Miracles Do Happen
by isabellaluvsrpattz
Summary: What if Gabriel Lightwood hadn't sided with his father in Clockwork Prince? What if he sided with his brother, Gideon ,and the Institute. What if he was walking to the Institute one evening when he ran into a girl. A girl who he couldn't get out of his mind. This is the story of Cecily Herondale and Gabriel Lightwood.Full summary inside. Rating may change to M later on...
1. Chapter 1: The First Meeting

**Summary for Miracles Do Happen:**

What if Gabriel hadn't sided with his father in Clockwork Prince. What if he sided with his brother, Gideon, and the Institute. What if he was on his way one evening to the Institute when he bumped into a girl, a girl who he couldn't get out of his mind, and who later showed up at the Institute and shocking everyone by making an outrageous claim. This is the story of Gabriel Lightwood and Cecily Herondale that proves that miracles do happen. Rated T, may change. Gabriel L./ Cecily H.

**Hi, guys! This is my second fanfic and I hope you like it!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Clockwork Prince, it all belongs to Cassandra Clare. If I did own Clockwork Prince Gabriel and Will would be mine! Ha!**

**Chapter 1:**

**The First Meeting:**

**Gabriel POV:**

"That is a lie! She took her own life, but not because of anything my father did." Charlotte Branwell looked directly at my father. "It was rather, because of something your Father did," she spat. I pitched my voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "What do you mean? Why would you say such a thing? Father?" _Family before law_. Ever since Gideon and I were but children, Father had always taught us that family was more important than the law. "Silence, Gabriel! Charlotte, what on earth are you talking about." "You know exactly what I speak of, _Benedict_. And so do your sons."

"I beg to differ," I began, "I, for one, have absolutely no idea as to what you speak of. Would someone please tell me what is going on?" I asked, completely baffled by this current situation. "Gabriel…" my father began, "It would be best if you did not ask these questions," he finished, his tone warning and weary. "Why not, father? Why can't he know?" That was Gideon, who was now speaking for the first time. "Why can't he know," Gideon continued, "That our beloved mother killed herself because of you, Father?"

I stood still, shocked. My hands slipped off my father's shoulders and hung limply at my sides. "W- what?" I stuttered out, then realised how incredibly incompetent I probably sounded to the others. "Our mother didn't kill herself because of our Uncle Silas, Gabriel. It was actually because our father gave her a nasty case of demon pox from his regular … umm… '_visits' _with his demon _'women friends'_." "Father, is this true." I asked, trying to control my anger.

"Gabriel, you don't understand." I put my hand on the back of his chair, pulling it so hard that the chair rotated and my father, who still sat in the chair, was now facing me. "Gabriel!" Gideon exclaimed in shock. My hands fisted tightly at my sides. "I asked you, if this is true, _Benedict._" I said, spitting his name with every ounce of venom I could muster. He sighed. "Yes, it is true." A loud crack echoed in the room as my fist connected with his face.

I held him by the collar of his shirt and backed him up against a wall. Everyone was probably too stunned to move; otherwise I am positive they would have been pulling me off my father by now. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE! YOU'VE TAKEN OUR MOTHER AWAY FROM US! YOU LYING, CHEATING BASTARD!" I raised my fist, about to hit him again, when someone strode up to me and grabbed my fist, pulling me off my father. I expected it to be Gideon or even Henry or Charlotte. But no. It was Will Herondale.

"Gabriel, he isn't worth wasting your time, or temper, on," he said. I looked back at my father, blood was running down his chin. I had broken his nose. Good. I wrenched my arm free of Will's grasp. "YOU! Never return here," Benedict began, "and your brother too. I am ashamed to call you both my sons. Leave from here right now!" "As you wish," Henry replied, taking Charlotte by the shoulders. He turned to all of us, "Let's all leave now, I think Benedict wishes to be alone at this moment. Gabriel, Gideon, you are more than welcome to reside at the Institute with us if you would like that."

I don't think I ever heard Henry give orders, or take control of a situation like that. He really wasn't as half-witted as everyone thought. I followed them out the door and grabbed my coat that was hanging on the coat rack. I began walking in the direction opposite to the one they were going in. "Gabriel, where are you going? The carriages and the Institute are this way." I heard Gideon say, and he sounded quite exasperated. "No need to worry, I am just going for a stroll. I need some fresh air." "Well, at least take a carriage, Gabriel." That was Charlotte, who sounded quite sympathetic. "No need. I can find my way back to the Institute." I said as I exited the gates of the house.

A while later, I found myself in Chiswick, pondering the previous events of the day. I soon realised that it was getting dark and I started my journey to the Institute. When I was about two corners away from the Institute, something very unusual happened. A big, black hat flew out of nowhere and struck me right in the face! I detached the hat from my face, looking at it in confusion. "Hey! Hat thief! Let it go!" I turned around to face a young girl who couldn't have been more than sixteen. She had white, creamy skin, long, black, shiny hair and eyes that were a mixture of blue and deep violet. She reminded me of someone, someone whose name I couldn't recall…

She glared at me. "Trying to steal my hat?" "On the contrary, I was about to return it to you. I had no idea who its owner was." "You are lying, you were going to steal it." "Why on earth would I want a black hat? Especially one so feminine?" I asked. She sighed. "I have no time to spare for this trivial matter. I have to be at the In- Oh! There I go running my mouth next to a hat thief. Oh well," she finished, and ran off before I could stop her and return her hat to her. Well, that was peculiar. I shook thoughts of the girl out of my head as I continued on my way to the Institute.

When I got there, they were all sitting in the dining room that was lit by witchlight. There was food in front of them but it was untouched. They stared at me expectantly. "What?" I queried. "Nothing. We were just waiting for you to join us so we could have dinner," answered Tessa, the shape shifter girl. I was somehow deeply touched by this gesture. "Oh, thanks," I mumbled, taking my seat between Gideon and Will. "So…" Henry began, trying to attempt conversation. "So…" I echoed, when he did not continue. Wow. This was awkward. I decided to break the silence. "So, may I ask where Miss Jessamine is? Is she not coming down for supper?"

Charlotte's face hardened and they all suddenly looked uncomfortable. Except for Gideon, who looked just as confused as I did. "Jessamine is in the Silent City for her betrayal of the Institute and the Clave," Charlotte answered, and it was clear she was not going to say anything more on the subject. Dinner was going very quietly until a loud banging was heard on the door. Cyril poked his head in. "There is someone here who wishes to speak to you all." "Very well, bring her in Cyril," Henry said. Someone stepped in, dressed in a black cloak complete with a hood. I gasped loudly, and so did Herondale, when the hood was pulled down and the person was revealed.

It was the girl from earlier! Herondale jumped up from his seat and ran towards her, yelling "Cecily!" They embraced each other and pulled apart after what seemed like a lifetime. They turned to us and Herondale said, "Everyone, this is my little sister, Cecily Herondale."

**Welllll… how was it? Good? Bad? Let me know. How do you think Gabriel and Cecily are going to react upon seeing each other? R & R!**


	2. Chapter 2: Secrets and Surprises

**Hiiii! I really have nothing to say except 'ON WITH THE STORY' !**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Infernal Devices, just this plot and this laptop I am using to write this.**

**Chapter 2:**

**Secrets and Surprises:**

**Gabriel POV:**

We all stood staring at Herondale. I am positive that half the people in this room thought that he had finally lost it, except for James and Tessa. "But, Will, I thought you said your sister was dead," said Charlotte. The girl- Cecily- gasped loudly. "WILLIAM HERONDALE! You told everyone that I was DEAD!" "No! Not you! Ella!" he replied. "Oh, well, sorry then," she said, smiling sheepishly. She then turned to Charlotte and said, "Our elder sister, Ella, is dead. I can assure you that I most certainly am alive."

"You never told us you had more than one sister, Will." That was Henry, looking so very puzzled. I spoke up for the first time, saying, "I didn't even know you had_ any _siblings whatsoever," which apparently was the wrong this to do since Cecily turned on me, glaring. "Hey! I had no idea you took in stray hat thieves!" Everyone stared at her. "What?" Will asked, looking between me and his sister. "He stole my hat! And he did not return it to me!" Everyone kept on staring. "I was going to return it to you but you ran off before I got the chance," I replied, taking the hat out of my coat where I had folded it and placed it earlier, and handed it to her.

She grabbed it from me and smacked me on the head with it. "What was that for!" I yelled. "For stealing my hat," she replied. "Well," James began, in a controlled voice, ending the small feud between me and Cecily, "at least now we are absolutely sure that she is Will's sister." Will turned to his sister, "What on earth are you doing here? You are supposed to be with mother and father, helping them-" She cut him off with an angry growl and began saying, "What are _you_ doing _here_? You left not even a day after Ella died, refused to see our parents when they showed up and you have the nerve to ask _me _what _I'm _doing here?" "I _had_ to leave, you don't understand, Cecily." They were very close to each other now. Both of them had their hands fisted at their sides, shoulders tense. Will had to look down at her because she was a bout a foot shorter than him. "Then make her, Will." Everyone turned to the person who said that; Tessa.

He stepped back and stared at her uncomprehendingly for a few moments. "I don't –" he began, only to be cut off again. "Don't pretend to have no idea as to what I am talking about, Will. Tell her why you left, in fact, tell them all. Or _I_ will. It makes absolutely no sense to keep it a secret anymore. I think I speak for everyone when I say we are all here for you and we all understand, that is, with the exception of the Lightwoods. I have no idea what their take on this is." Gideon and I looked at her, at each other, back to her, then shrugged. She was right. Will sighed, "Well, if I am going to tell you all, you should take a seat. This is quite a long story." He sighed again, a lot more dramatically, plopped down on his seat and stared at us.

**Will POV:**

"Well, don't just stand there. Be seated," I said. I was still a bit shaken from Cecily's sudden appearance and I had no idea how to begin telling them about the curse. What if they asked why I suddenly wanted the curse removed? How could I explain it to them without blurting out that I was in love with Tessa? They sat and I saw Gabriel about to return to his dinner when he received a warning glance from Gideon. He dropped his fork on his plate and leaned back into the chair as I began my tale.

"I was quite young when it happened, only twelve, when I was searching my father's study. He told us never to go in there, which of course is why I went. Also because I was so chronically bored. As I was searching the desk, I came upon a locked draw. Most children would stop if they saw a locked draw because they would realise that it was locked for a reason, but this only spiked my curiosity and I opened it. Inside was a box, and at the time I had no idea that it was a _Pyxis._" I was cut off by Gideon asking, "Why would your father have a _Pyxis_ if he no longer desired to be a Shadowhunter?"

"I don't know," I sighed. "Maybe he kept it as a memoir? Anyway, as I was saying, when I found the box, I had no idea what it was, so I opened it-" "YOU WHAT? Will, why would you do that?" Charlotte yelled. "I had no idea what it was! Would you like me to continue the story or not?" I asked. She nodded. "Well, when I opened it, I let out a demon who was imprisoned in the box. His name was Marbas. He was big, ghastly and blue, with a huge barbed tail I might add. He thought I was the one who imprisoned him, so he cursed me. He said that from that day, anyone who loved me would die."

"At first I thought nothing of it, but then Ella died. So I left my family to avoid any other deaths and I came here. That's why I refused to talk to them when they came to they came here that day. That's why I push everyone away, so more people will hate me and less will die." "Oh, Will, that must have been so hard for you," Charlotte said, her eyes filled with sympathy. "Yes, well, imagine how foolish I felt when I enlisted the help of Magnus Bane a couple of days ago to summon the demon for me to remove the curse, only to have Marbas tell me that there was never a curse at all." "But, Ella died, Will," Cecily said, her eyes teary. "Yes, but he only killed Ella to make me believe that the curse was real, and I did."

Cecily came over to me and hugged me. "Ohh! I'm so sorry. But I do wish you had told me before!" "It's okay, withdrawing this information from you added to the drama of the story. My life has been quite a soap opera, hasn't it? I believe I should write a book about it and get it published. I could become quite famous, couldn't I?" I joked. "Well, Will, don't you even w_ant_ to go back to mother and father?" I looked away, my jaw clenched and my knuckles tightened. I spoke with a razor sharp edge to my voice, "I _can't_," Anyone else would have left the topic alone, but not Cecily. She is my sister after all. "But why? I don't see why you can't! And don't you use that tone with me, mister! Have some respect for your sister!" and with that she walked back to her seat and sat down.

Everyone had been watching the exchange between us and when it was over, Charlotte said, "Well, I believe you all may be open to some good news after that story." She turned to Henry. "Henry, we're having a boy! I'm pregnant!" Tessa's mouth opened slightly, Cecily smiled, Jem's eyes widened and so did Gideon's. I dropped my fork. Sophie jumped happily and clapped her hands together, smiling. Gabriel choked on his drink. Henry, however, jumped up so fast that he knocked over his chair, and almost knocked over Charlotte, who was holding his hands. "Really, Lottie? Are we really having a boy?" Charlotte nodded. Gideon spoke for the first time, "I'm happy for you, congratulations to you both." Sophie chirped, "OH! Miss! I'm so glad for you!" Tessa, Jem and I congratulated them as well. Gabriel looked at them and said, "Congratulations. Henry, I had no idea you had it in you!" I couldn't resist saying, "Actually, I think Charlotte had _it_ in _her_, if you know what I mean." Gabriel actually laughed and everyone else glared at me.

I gasped dramatically. "Do my ears deceive me? Did I just succeed in making _the_ Gabriel Lightwood laugh? Victory is mine!" I threw my napkin in the ear. Gabriel glared at me. I sighed. Back to square one. "I am not an emotionless robot, Herondale," he spat. "Really? You could have fooled me," I retorted. Gideon decided to step in and stop us by saying, "Both of you, stop acting like children and behave." Gabriel and I glared at each other for a while until Tessa asked, "So, what's going to happen with our training now that Gabriel and Gideon are staying here?" "Well," Charlotte spoke up, "Gideon shall continue to train Sophie and Gabriel refuses to teach you, so, Jem?" "Of course," Jem agreed, smiling at Tessa. I wondered when he was going to tell everyone that he and Tessa were engaged. I spoke up, "I can also train Tessa, on the days when Jem is not feeling too well."

I tried to meet Jem's eyes, but he looked away. Was he avoiding me? I'd have to talk to him later. "How soon do they start?" Jem asked. "Not tomorrow, I'm sure Gideon and Gabriel would like some time to overcome their shock upon learning the real cause of their mother's death and leaving their father's house," Henry said, sympathetically. "I know I believed you quite quickly, but are you absolutely sure that she died from contracting demon pox from our father?" Gideon asked. "Well, yes, did you not see the rash?" I answered. "Rash? By the angel!" Jem exclaimed and ran out of the room. "You don't think he has demon pox, do you?" Henry asked. "I hope not, because we just got engaged," Tessa mumbled. "What!" Charlotte exclaimed.

**Gabriel POV:**

"I hope not, because we just got engaged," Tessa mumbled. What! I thought she liked Will! "What!" Charlotte exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell us before?" Henry asked. "Umm, we were waiting for the right time," Tessa said, going red. Jem came back just then and plopped some papers on the table. "Here they are. Barbara Lightwood's death papers. It describes a rash on her back spreading to her body. Then it says that she died from slitting her own wrists and- What? Why is everyone staring at me?" "We have just heard of your engagement, Jem," Gideon answered dryly. He looked at Tessa. "It just slipped out," she said. "Well, yes, I love her and I want to marry her. Does anyone object?" No one did, though Herondale looked like he wanted to.

Gideon and I started going through the papers when Cecily exclaimed, "Wait! Who is going to train me?" Charlotte looked up. "Well, Gideon, Will and Jem are already taken and Henry and I will be busy trying to find Mortmain so…" she trailed off, looking at me. "I will not! Did you hear the ridiculous accusations she threw at me? She hit me with her hat as well! Did you not see that?" I exclaimed. "He's right! I don't want him to train me! We won't get along!" Cecily yelled. "Considering the fact that you both just agreed without fighting and that there is no one else left to train her, Gabriel, you will have to train her. Understood?" I sighed, "Yes," I mumbled. Cecily just nodded. She looked at me, glaring, and I glared back. This was going to be hard.

**Soooo…. Sorry about the late update, but I Had exams and they just finished. Did I not mention that before? So sorry. BTW how was it? Good, bad? R&R! Next chapter should be up by either Monday or Tuesday… or sooner, hopefully.**


	3. Chapter 3: Training and Warnings

**Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Infernal Devices.**

**Chapter 3:**

**Training and Warnings:**

**Gabriel POV:**

I sighed as I got ready to go down to the training room. Today would be my first training session with Cecily, and I knew it would turn out to be a disaster. I started walking to the room, trying to figure out how to make a good impression on her. Then I wondered why I was even bothering to, since she already hated me. I can't believe that she actually still thought that I wanted to steal her hat. I mean seriously!

When I got there, she was nowhere to be seen. Just as I was about to walk out of the room, I bumped into her. She glared at me. "Watch where you're going!" She spat. I sighed, and decided to ignore her. If I ignore her, she would stop. Then again, she is Herondale's sister, and even though I try to ignore him he still manages to get under my skin. "Let's just train," I said. "Today, we will be working on swordsmanship." I said, picking up a conveniently placed sword. She scoffed, saying, "Why is it called swords_man_ship anyway? Why couldn't it be called swords_woman_ship?"

I will admit, that was funny. But I didn't say anything about it. "I don't know, Cecily. Can we just start?" She grimaced. "Fine." I walked towards her. "Have you had any previous training?" I asked. "Yes, my father trained me a little. I know the fighting stances, and I know a lot of sword moves. I also learned parrying and blocking, but I'm afraid I've never done knife- throwing." Impressive. "You said you already know how to fight with a sword?" I asked. She walked up to me and grabbed the sword from my hand, saying, "You'd be surprised at how good I am with swords." "Let's see, then." I grabbed a sword and faced her.

Ten minutes later, _I saw._ I saw that she really was good, seeing as I was on my back on the floor with her straddling me, holding the sword to my throat. "I win!" she beamed. "Just checking in to see- woah! What's going on here?" We turned around to see who it was. Will. As if it couldn't get any more awkward. I gestured towards Cecily, who was _still_ on top of me. "Your sister beat me in a sword fighting match, as you can see. Now William, could you please remove her from on top of me?" Cecily looked down at me and said, "Don't pretend you don't like it," before getting off of me, leaving me staring at her, shocked. Will sighed, "Please, if you're going to flirt, wait until I'm out of the room. I believe shall get nightmares about this ordeal I had to go through." I was shocked at the relaxed matter in which he could discuss this topic with his sister.

"I wasn't flirting with him. I just like teasing him," Cecily responded, her eyes dancing. "Well, go ahead. I have to train Tessa now, Jem isn't feeling too well today. I'll check up on you later to see how well your _training _is going," he said, putting emphasis on the word 'training'. "Okay, bye Willie!" Cecily said, kissing him on the cheek. _Willie! _He scowled at her and said, "Don't call me Willie," before leaving the room. I started chuckling. "Bye, Willie!" I called down the hallway at Will's retreating form, before Cecily and I collapsed on the floor in a fit of laughter. I think this is the longest we've gone without her hurling accusations at me. We were making progress.

After we got up from the floor, Cecily turned to me. "You know, you're not that bad, she said. I glanced at her. "I thought I was a hat thief?" I asked her. "I thought you were! I saw my hat gone, and then I saw you holding it! So obviously, you had stolen it." She said indignantly. "Well I didn't. The wind blew it right into my face. You know, you're just like Will." I said. "Well you know, Gabriel, when people are related they tend to have similarities in looks and behaviour." Cecily said it as though I were stupid. Just like Will. I chuckled. "See what I mean?" She hmphed. "So you really didn't steal my hat?" She asked. "No, I didn't. Why would I?" "Oh…." She said. Well at least that was cleared up. "I can't train anymore, let's call it a day." She murmured. Was that a hint of shame I detected? Ha. "Alright, see you tomorrow," I called as she left.

I finished packing up the armor and left the room. Back in my room, I mulled over the training session. It hadn't gone as planned but it worked out anyway. I thought I had left an okay impression on her and that maybe she didn't hate me anymore. _Cecily is beautiful, _said a voice in the back of my mind. What? Did I really just think that? Before I could even make sense of that thought, I saw Will jump in through my window. "Honestly, William, couldn't you have just knocked on the door like a normal person?" I said. He grinned. "It's just not my style, Gabe. Why do you keep calling me William? It's so formal…call me Will from now on." "Really, I'd much prefer to call you Willie." "Would you like it if I called you Gabey?" I rolled my eyes at him. "Alright, _Will. _What do you want?" I asked. "I just wanted to give you a warning," he said, becoming tense.

"And why would you need to warn me? Don't worry, Will. I'll keep my hands off _your _Tessa," I said with a smirk. "That's not what I meant, ass! Besides, I don't like Tessa like that. She's marrying Jem and that's final." But I heard the underlying tone that he used. He was hurting and I knew it, but I left the subject alone. "So what is it?" I asked. "Cecily." He said simply. "Cecily? Why would you need to warn me about Cecily? Is she still against me about the hat incident?" He looked confused for a second. "No, ass," Why did he keep calling me an ass? Insulting bastard! " I mean the way you look at her." What way? I barely knew her! But then there was that thought that I had before Will came in.

He continued. "Look Gabe, you're not as bad as I thought, I'll give you that. But if you hurt her, I will break you, just like I did when I was twelve." He said menacingly. "You have no need to worry, Will. Give me more credit than that, will you? If anything _does_ happen between us, and it won't, I won't hurt her, alright? And I sincerely doubt that you'll be able to break me now." He glanced at me as if unsure to believe me or not. "Alright." Will said. I stared at him expectantly. "Isn't this the part where you're supposed to apologise for what you did to my sister?" I asked him, after it was clear that that he was not going to say anything.

"You mean apologise for reading your sister's diary to everyone who was present that day and showing them that she was incredibly deluded and in love with me? Then yes, I am sorry for showing everyone her true colours. Does she still fancy me? I have been looking for-" "You had better be joking!" I said, cutting him off. "No, of course not! I sincerely need a girl to use to help me pass the time!" I took a step towards him. "Relax, Gabe. I'm joking, but I'm serious about my sister." "I know," I replied.

It was then that Will and I noticed how well we were getting along, and how unnatural it was. We both cleared our throats and Will said, "Well I'll be gone now. Remember what I've said, Gabe. Don't let me down." I smiled and waved him off, before saying, "Oh, Will? Call me Gabriel," He smirked and left the room. With him gone, I sat down and my mind suddenly went to the training session today. Cecily was beautiful, but anyone could see that. Just because I thought so did not imply that I liked her or held any affection for her. I was just stating the obvious. After I had freshened up, I decided to take a stroll around the Institute. When I passed the Branwell's bedroom, I heard Charlotte say, "Henry, for the last time! We are not naming our son Buford! I don't care if it was your father's name of his father's name and so on and so on!"

I heard Henry's gentle voice reply, "But, Lottie, it's a tradition to name sons after their fathers." "If that's the case why were you named Henry and not Buford?" Charlotte asked. She was right, and I envisioned that she would be staring at him triumphantly right now. "Because my mother thought that there was nothing wrong with a little change, so she named me Henry." _Wrong thing to say, Henry. _"Then in that case, I agree with your mother. We are not naming him Buford." I walked off before I could hear anymore. I walked for a while down the large hall before I heard whispering. I ducked in a corner and peered out. My throat tightened at what I saw. Gideon and Sophie. She was standing with her back to the wall and he was in front of her.

He brushed her hair back and whispered, "I love you." She giggled and blushed. His lips were nearing hers and I walked off, not wanting to see or hear anymore. I knew Gideon fancied Sophie, but I had never actually seen them _together_ before. I passed the library and stopped. It seemed like a quiet place to relax for the time being. I browsed through the library and finally decided to read _A Tale of Two Cities._ I sat in a chair, and as I did, I heard a feminine scream, followed by a, "GET THE HELL OFF OF ME!" and I turned around to see Cecily and I realised, with horror, that I had accidently sat on her.

**Wow… bet you didn't see that coming! So I'm soooo soory for updating a day late! I was very busy. How was it, btw? R&R! Next update should be by the weekend or sooner… but that depends on the reviews**


	4. Chapter 4: Explanations and Invitations

**Thanks to all those who reviewed and on to the story…**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Infernal Devices**

**Chapter 4:**

**Explanations and Invitations:**

**Cecily POV:**

I walked hurriedly away from the training room, face flushed. I had my head down and as I rounded the corner, I almost ran in to someone. Tessa. Her brown hair was loose and her grey eyes looked startled. "Oh! I'm sorry!" she said. "Let it be, it's partly my fault as well. I was walking with my head down," I said. "Tessa, darling, where are you?" I heard a voice ask. We both turned to see Jem hurrying towards us - or rather, towards Tessa. I recognised him due to the unusual silver colouring of his eyes and hair. I felt rather sorry for him due to the fact that Will had told me about his illness.

Tessa smiled at him, "I'm here," she said. "I see. Oh! Cecily. Good morning," he said cheerfully. I nodded at him. "How was your first training session? Will told me he stopped by," he asked. _Please tell me Will didn't tell him what happened during training today. Please let him be smarter than that._ Clearing my throat I said, "Yeah, it was fine. I beat Gabriel Lightwood in sparring." Jem laughed, "So I heard. Now, tell me. How exactly did Will and Gabriel refrain from killing each other?" "I'm not sure," I lied. "Will was probably trying to be on his best behaviour for his little sister, of course," Tessa said. _Actually, it was because I was on top of Gabriel for the majority of the time, blocking Will from getting to him._ Of course, I didn't say that out loud.

I smiled and nodded and said, "Well, I must be going now. Do have a nice day." They both smiled and we parted ways. I walked for a while and I found the library surprisingly easy. I think it was because books, poetry books in particular, called to me. I browsed through the library before settling on a book full of poems by various authors.I sat on an armchair and pulled a conveniently placed shawl over me. I didn't even realise that someone had come in until they sat on me. I screamed and yelled , "GET THE HELL OFF OF ME!" before turning and looking in to the shocked, emerald green eyes of Gabriel Lightwood.

**Gabriel POV:**

I stared at her, shocked. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING! IS THAT HOW IT IS? I FALL ON YOU IN THE PRESENCE OF MY BROTHER DURING TRAINING SO YOU _SIT_ ON ME?" she yelled. "No! Of course not! I had no idea you were sitting there!" I said. When she spoke again, she wasn't yelling, but her voice was still loud. "Don't you look before you sit? How could you not have seen me there?" "I'm terribly sorry for sitting on you. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that you were covered in a shawl that is the exact same colour as the chair you're on?" She looked from the cranberry red shawl to the similarly coloured armchair and blushed.

I stared at her, mesmerised. She actually blushed. It started at her rosy, creamy white cheeks, spreading all the way down her face to her neck, chest and below the neckline of her dress, probably leading to her breas- "Hey!" she snapped, "My eyes are up here!" I looked at her and said, "A thousand pardons. I should not have done that. Forgive me, but I was momentarily side tracked. "By what?" she asked, confused. "By your blush. Or rather, by the fact that you do blush," I added quickly, hoping not to give away too much, and mentally slapping myself for admitting that to her. "I never though I would see the day when a Herondale blushed. Your brother certainly doesn't," I realised I was rambling and quickly shut up.

"My brother, is a man. They don't usually blush like women do," she said. "Oh," I replied, stupidly. We stood awkwardly for a moment until she took the book out of my hand, asking, "_A Tale of Two Cities_?" When I nodded, she continued, "What a wonderful book, but of course, it can't beat poetry." I smiled, saying, "I _love_ poetry. There's just something about deciphering poetic language that appeals to me." She grinned so widely I thought her face would split. She then picked up the book she was reading and handed it to me, saying, "I love poetry as well, for the exact same reason," "Really?" I asked, before continuing, "May I ask what your favourite book is?" "_Romeo and Juliet,"_ she sighed dreamily. "Mine as well," I replied, shocked at how much we had in common.

She squealed excitedly before running off and coming back, book in hand. She showed it to me. _Romeo and Juliet_. She sat on the armchair and pulled me down next to her. Startled, I exclaimed, "Cecily! What are you doing!" "Reading the book," she replied casually, before she opened the book and began to read aloud. I stared at her. At her face. _She really is beautiful_. Her long hair was in a messy bun and her violet-blue eyes were wide with excitement as she read. After she finished chapter one, she handed me the book, saying, "Now you read." I couldn't find it in me to say no, so I took the book from her and proceeded to read. She scooted closer to me, so close that the left side of my body and the right side of hers were lined up.

Before I could begin to read, William walked in. He saw us sitting close together and glared at me, so I moved away from his sister, knowing I would hear about it later. "Will!" Cecily exclaimed. His gaze softened as she said his name, then hardened again as it rested upon me. He strode up to us and said, "Come along, you two. Charlotte and Henry have news for us." He waited until Cecily had gotten up and left before looking at me and asking, "What were you two doing?" I waved the book in my hand and said, "Reading." He stared at me for a while before deciding that I was telling the truth and walked off in pursuit of Cecily. I sighed and placed the book on the chair before following the both of them.

I followed them until we got to Charlotte's office, where she and Henry were both sitting side by side on the sofa. James, Gideon, Tessa and Sophie were already there. William sat on a chair, placing his hands behind his head and putting his feet up on the coffee table in front of them. "Really, Will. Must you do that?" Cecily asked. He just shrugged and asked, "Why are we here? Charlotte?" We all looked at her and she held up a sheet of paper, rolled neatly and tied with a ribbon. "You brought us here… to show us a piece of paper?" William asked. Cecily smacked him hard on the back of his head and said, "Don't be rude! And sit up and get your feet off of the table!" He sat up immediately. Everyone looked on, amazed, until James said, "Who knew all it took to control Will was to get his baby sister out here?" Will glared at him and said, "And who knew all it took to control _you_ was to get you engaged?"

"Boys, stop it!" Henry said, and took the paper from Charlotte's hand. "Consul Wayland has invited us to a ball tomorrow afternoon." "For what?" Gideon asked warily. "He says he is having it on behalf of Charlotte being able to keep the Institute," Henry answered. "A ball! I love those!" Cecily exclaimed. We looked at her in surprise. "What?" she questioned, glaring at us. We looked away. "I'll take Cecily out tomorrow to get some things for the ball." Tessa offered. Charlotte then said, "Tessa… I don't think it's safe for you and Cecily to be out alone. Maybe you should take one of the guys with you. Will and Jem have to help me and Henry with something and Sophie will be left here, and I'm sure Gideon will want to stay with her, also because we can't leave the Institute unguarded. So I guess that mean Gabriel has to go with you…" Everyone looked at me.

"Congrats, Gabe! You have to go shopping tomorrow with the girls!" William said. Tessa and Cecily glared at him and both said, at the _exact_ same time, "Is that a problem, William?" in calm but dangerous voices. It was extremely creepy. "No problem at all," William answered, but he threw a smirk in my direction when he thought no one was looking. 'I saw that, Will," Cecily said. He simmered down. Great, I have to go shopping tomorrow.

**So? How was it? Good/ bad? Lemme know. Okay, now, whose POV do you want me to write in? Tell eme via review and I'll include it in the next chapter which should be up by Wednesday or most likely Thursday or sooner, depending on the reviews. Also, anything special you guys wanna see happen in the next chap during the shopping trip? Lemme know! Review review REVIEW! Please :P**


	5. Chapter 5: Shopping Trips and Balls

**So… thanks for the reviews! Also, these chapters aren't beta'd because it's summer and Bri and I are apart…I'll read over all chapters to make sure there are no errors but if there are, please excuse them. Also, someone who reviews under the name of "Guest" gave me a great idea to use and I will use it in the appropriate chapter… I'll also let you know when I'm gonna use it.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Infernal Devices for my name is not Cassandra Clare**

**Chapter 5:**

**Shopping Trips and Masquerade Balls: (For all you dirty-minded people, when I say 'balls' I mean the party kind :P)**

**Cecily POV: **

I banged hard against Gabriel's door and yelled, "Get up! We have to leave now if we're going to make it back in time to get ready for the ball!" I waited for a while before pulling out my steele and carving an Open rune on the door. I pushed the door open to see Gabriel lying on his bed under the covers. I walked up to him and pulled his feet hard, causing him to fall off the bed. "What the fu-" he began, before I effectively cut him off by saying, "Get up! We have to go! And don't you know better than to curse in the presence of a lady!" He rubbed his eyes and glared at me, saying, "Lady? Lady! A lady would not barge into someone's room and pull them off their bed!" "Well, then. Perhaps I'm not a lady, I'm a woman." "Not for two more years you're not," he mumbled.

"What was that!" I asked sharply. "Nothing," he said, before continuing, "Why on earth did you do that!" "Well, I knocked_ lightly_ on your door-" "Yeah. You knocked _lightly. _I'm sure you woke up the entire house with your incessant banging on my door." "Will you let me finish? After I knocked on your door and told you to wake up, I waited for _two whole _seconds and you didn't come out so I used an Open rune on your door and I pulled you off the bed. And it worked didn't it? You're up! Now, get dressed, we have to leave now." He got up, and as he did, the sheets he was tangled in fell off of him, revealing his bare chest. My breath caught as my eyes travelled over his white, muscular skin. His arms, so hard and muscular. The shape of his throat. The tightly muscled, six-pack abdominals and stomach, ending in a wonderful, muscular 'V'.**(A/N Hey all you girls out there! Stop drooling! :P)**

He caught me staring, and probably blushing, and smirked, saying, "See something you like?" I looked beyond him and replied, "Yes. The sun is very beautiful today, isn't it?" A look of annoyance crossed his face, and I thought that maybe now was a good time to leave. "Well, get dressed and meet us downstairs. We have to leave now." I turned and left the room, running straight into Tessa, who took in my flustered look and looked back to Gabriel's room where she saw him standing, bare chested and looking annoyed. "Ready to go?" she asked. I nodded and we walked downstairs together.

**Gabriel POV:**

I sat in the carriage, annoyed. First, Cecily comes banging on my door and wakes me up in the most unusual manner, orders me to get dressed and meet them downstairs, I missed breakfast to get here early and they are not even here! Moments later, I hear giggling and I look up to see Cecily and Tessa walking towards the carriage with Cyril. "Where have you two been? Do you know how long I've been here waiting for you?" I said. "We've been having breakfast. Where were you?" Tessa answered. _Breakfast! They were having breakfast!_ "I thought you told me to meet you down here?" I asked Cecily. She and Tessa got in the carriage, sitting opposite me. "No, I told you to meet us downstairs. As in the dining room. If I wanted you to meet us outside I would have said, "Meet us outside," Cecily stated. I stared at her incredulously.

"Where to, Miss Grey," Cyril asked Tessa, who was watching the exchange between me and Cecily and smirking. "Take us to town, please, Cyril. We're going shopping for dresses." "And you, Mr Lightwood?" "The same, Cyril," I answered. When he stifled a laugh, I asked, "Is there something wrong with that?" "No, sir. It is completely normal for a man to go shopping for dresses." He couldn't contain his laughter anymore, and he burst out laughing, causing Tessa and Cecily to follow suit. I sighed and rested my head against the seat.

When we finally got there, I hopped out of the carriage and I realised that Cecily was wearing that blasted black hat again. "Do keep your hat on you head this time, Cecily. My face still hurts from the last time it attacked me," I said wearily. Tessa looked between the both of us and said, "What?" Cecily pulled her aside and started explaining it to her. Before we entered any stores, I stopped at a little café and had breakfast. If I was going to put up with Cecily, Tessa and shopping, I needed food. After I ate, I followed them into a store, that looked somewhat familiar, and I leaned against the wall while they looked around. "Gabriel, come here for a second, please." Cecily called. I walked up to her and she said, "Now hold out your arms." I looked at her questioningly. She sighed. "Just do it." Not wanting to argue and make a scene in the store, and knowing the both of us we most likely would, I complied with her request and she dumped a pile of dresses in my arms.

She smiled sweetly and said, "Could you hold that for me, please?" and turned her back to me, looking at the dresses on one of the racks. A while later, I saw a couple of people and I almost dropped the pile of dresses I was holding and ran out of the store. Now I remembered why this store looked so familiar; it belonged to Erica Penhallow, the wife of Edward Penhallow and the mother of one of my friends, who was now walking my way, Jeffrey Penhallow. He was among some of my other friends, Eric Wayland and his brother Gregory Wayland. Well, at least Jeff's annoying sister, Jennifer, was not here. If she was here, I would have run without a second thought. She has this huge crush on me and thinks that I return her feelings. And, yes. They were all Shadowhunters.

"Gabriel? Gabriel Lightwood? Is that you?" I heard someone ask, and I looked up to see all three of them walking towards me. "Are those dresses for you, Gabe? I must say, they suit you rather well," Jeff said and smirked. "They are not mine. I'm holding them for someone." I said, and nodded in Cecily's direction. "Wow! Who's that, Gabe?" Eric asked. "A girl, have you never seen one before?" Greg answered. "Are you courting her, Gabriel?" Jeff asked. "No, I am not," I replied, which was apparently the wrong thing to say, since he said, "Good! It's been a while since I last had myself a piece of ass that fine," he said. I dropped the dresses and stepped menacingly towards him. "Say that again, and I'll make sure you'll never be able to have children," I threatened. He looked slightly scared. "Gabriel! You dropped them!" I heard a voice say.

_Please, no. Please, Cecily, just go back to the dresses you were looking at so I don't have to kill this bastard. _Of course, she came right up to me, and I could practically hear Eric and Jeff panting like dogs, and I said, "I'm terribly sorry. I was reminding my friend of his manners." I helped her pick up the dresses and as I straightened up, I heard Jeff say, "Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend, Gabriel?" He picked up Cecily's hand and moved to kiss it, saying, "My name is Jeffery Penhallow. Who are you?" Cecily smiled dangerously and said, "You better let go of my hand unless you want to lose yours." _That's my girl, Cecily! Wait? Did I really just refer to her as 'my' girl?_ Jeff smartly released her hand and I quickly introduced the rest of them.

"So, are you two coming to the ball this afternoon?" Greg asked. "Yes, we are," I replied, and I glared at Eric and Jeff who were still staring at Cecily. Greg was engaged, and even if he wasn't you would never catch him being so inappropriate towards a girl. We stood there for a while, Cecily going through the dresses in my arms and Eric and Jeff gawking at her. Greg just stood there, shaking his head at the both of them. I was so grateful when Tessa walked up to us, saying, "Cecily, I've got my dresses. Have you got yours?" "Hmm… I've got two… but I can't decide between this dark blue one and this yellow one." _The blue one! Take the blue one!_ It would look lovely on her. It would also bring out her eyes.

"Hmm… take the blue one, Cecily. It'll look lovely on you." "Really?" She looked at it again before saying, "Okay, I'll take it. Gabriel, can you put back those dresses please?" "What? I don't even know where they're supposed to go!" I protested. Jeff stepped up then and said, "I'll put them back. Anything for a pretty lady such as yourself," while looking at Cecily. "Seriously, Jeffrey!" Cecily exclaimed, "If you're going to keep complementing Gabriel like that I'm sure he'll be expecting you to propose very soon!" Everyone started laughing and I dropped the remaining dresses on top of Jeff and walked away with Cecily and Tessa to pay for the dresses. After we paid for the dresses, we went back to the carriage and sat down. "So… your friends seem… nice?" Cecily said, although it sounded more like a question. "I wonder what they would have done if I'd told them you were William's sister?" I replied.

"I wonder what they would've done if Will was actually there?" Tessa inputted. "If Will was there we'd hear about their murders tomorrow," Cecily deadpanned, and Tessa and I laughed but I couldn't help thinking that William would actually have done that. When we got back to the Institute, William and James were standing near the gates. When Cecily stepped out, William rushed to her, saying, "Are you okay? Did anything happen to you or Tessa while you were out?" "So glad to hear that you're concerned about me as well, William," I said sarcastically. Cecily shrugged him off and said, "We're fine. Nothing happened to us, except we met three of Gabriel's friends, two of whom were very idiotic." "Did they try anything on you? Tell me and I'll throw them in the Thames!" "Are you suggesting that I cannot take care of myself?" Cecily demanded.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tessa and James retreating to the Institute. Clearly, they did not want to stick around to see the fight that was about to unfold. I merely leaned against the gates, and watched. "No I did not say that. I just wanted to make sure you were okay!" William defended himself. "I was fine! I know how to protect myself. Besides, Gabriel and Cyril were nearby. So stop worrying so much. I'm fine. Now, help me take my bags to my room," she said and pushed the bags into his hands. I chuckled as he sighed and followed her, saying, "Oh! Dear me! My own sister is treating me like a slave. When will this unjust treatment end!" "Oh! Stop being so dramatic, Will!" Cecily said as they disappeared through the doors of the Institute. I followed them in and went straight to my room.

********************************** AT THE BALL**********************************

**Cecily POV:**

We arrived at the ball about thirty minutes after Gabriel and Gideon did. As we entered, someone greeted us. "Charlotte, Henry. Pleasure to see you again. Mr Carstairs and Miss Grey, I asked Gideon to convey my congratulations on your engagement but I think I'll do it myself… Congratulations!" he said, shaking Jem's hand. Then he turned to Will and said, "Nice to see you, Mr Herondale. And who might this be?" "This is my little sister, Cecily. Cecily, this is Consul Wayland." I shook the Consul's hand, quickly getting bored with this conversation. "Oh, have you met my sons? Eric! Gregory! Where are you?" The Consul went off in search of his son. I took that as my cue to leave.

I walked around for a while until I saw Gabriel in a corner. He was wearing a crisp white shirt with a black suit and shoes along with a green tie that brought out his eyes. He looked very handsome. **(A/N from here on I shall be incorporating the idea suggested to me by 'Guest' and adding on some ideas of my own)** I saw a brunette girl in a red dress walk up to him and tap him on his shoulder. He turned around and when he saw her, his eyes lit up and his face broke out in a rare, beautiful smile. The girl threw her arms around his neck and he lifted her off her feet, spinning her around, before placing her back on the ground. She then placed a kiss on his cheek. _Who the hell is this girl? Is she his girlfriend? _I thought as I stomped angrily towards them.

**Gabriel POV:**

Gideon, Sophie and I arrived first, having left before anyone else. We weren't sure if anyone knew we were staying at the Institute, so to avoid unnecessary talk, Charlotte suggested that we go first. She and Henry would leave ten minutes later, along with everyone else. We were greeted by Consul Wayland as soon as we entered the doors. "Ahh, Gideon, Gabriel, so nice to see you. And who is this?" he said, nodding at Sophie. Gideon wrapped his arm around Sophie and said, "This is Sophie Collins. My fiancé." _Fiancé? They were engaged?_ My eyes widened momentarily in surprise while the Consul said, "Well, I do believe congratulations are in order. Also, please convey my congratulations to Mr Carstairs. I heard he recently got engaged as well," and with those words, he left.

I turned to Gideon and asked, "Fiancé?" "I proposed to her last night and she said yes," he answered, then he took her by the hand and led her to dance while I found myself a little corner and stood there. After a while, someone tapped me on the shoulder and I turned around to see who it was. A grin broke out on my face as the girl smiled at me and threw her arms around my neck, saying, "Gabriel! I missed you so much!" She planted a kiss on my cheek and I said, "I missed you too Tatiana. **(A/N I know right here some of you are sighing in relief and putting away the pitchforks and weapons you were gonna use to kill this girl :P)** Where's your husband?" "He's coming. Last I saw him he was talking to the Consul." I looked over my sister's shoulder and I spotted Cecily. And my heart stopped.

She had worn the blue dress from earlier. It was off the shoulders and the neckline was low, exposing the tops of her creamy white breasts. The dress held her upper body tightly then it flared slightly at the waist, going all the way down and sweeping the floor. Her long midnight hair was curled and hung loosely, while the blue dress brought out her eyes. She saw me and her gaze hardened, then she stomped towards me. _What have I done now?_

**So…. What do you think is gonna happen? Will someone tell Cecily that the girl is Gabriel's sister before she does anything stupid? Also, the idea I got was to bring in Tatiana and have her talk to Gabriel and let Cecily see them and get jealous. So…. 'Guest' are you happy? Did I use your idea right? Okay, so whose POV do you want me to write in next? And who do you think should tell Cecily that the girl is Gabriel's sister? 5 reviews or more please :P should update by Sunday or Monday!**


	6. Chapter 6: The New Boy and The New Girl

**Okay, thanks for all the reviews! And to the person who alerted me to the fact that I was slipping into the 20****th**** century when writing dialogue, I'll try to stay in the 1870's, but please remember that I did not grow up in the 1870's, so dialogue from that time does not come very naturally to me, although I do have a general knowledge of it.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Infernal Devices…**

**Chapter 6:**

**The New Boy and The New Girl:**

**Cecily POV:**

I stomped angrily towards them, then stopped midway. _Why do I even care if he's with that girl? He can do whatever he wants! _Someone grabbed my arm, effectively stopping my little mind rant, and I turned to see Will. "Going to see Gabriel and his sister, I see. Tatiana Lightwood, or, well, she _was _a Lightwood. Now she's married, to some guy named…umm… What was it again? Right! Daniel Ivashkov. She used to hate me, you know. Let's go see if she still does, shall we?" When he said the girl was Gabriel's sister, I felt so relieved, not even knowing why. Still holding me by the arm, he pulled me in the direction of Gabriel before I could even protest. When we got there, I yanked my arm out of his grasp and hissed, "What are you doing! I don't like to be pulled!" I brushed off my dress and passed a hand through my hair, and when I straightened up, I was looking straight at, or straight _up_ at, since he was much taller than me, Gabriel Lightwood. He raised one eyebrow and said, "Fancy seeing you here," "Be quiet, you knew I was coming," Will replied, before I could say anything.

He held out his hand to Tatiana and said, "Now, on the other hand, I had no idea _you _were going to be here. How are you?" She made no move to shake his hand; she merely looked at it, hatred clearly visible in her eyes. Gabriel looked annoyed as well. Just then, a tall, blond- haired and green- eyed, handsome man walked up to us. He must be Daniel, Tatiana's husband. "Ahh. Gabriel. I had no idea you would be here. How are you?" "I'm fine," Gabriel replied. They shook hands, and Daniel looked at the two of us, and asked his wife, "And who are they?" "This, is William Herondale," she replied, voice tight. "And this is his sister, Cecily," Gabriel said. He shook Will's hand and said, "I've heard a lot about you from Tatiana. Should I be jealous?" he joked. "Only if you take a twelve- year old girl's diary entries to heart," Will replied. Tatiana looked shocked, as if she couldn't believe he would say that. Daniel wrapped an arm around Tatiana's waist and whispered something in her ear, and then he led her to the floor to dance.

When they left, Gabriel turned to Will, anger evident in his expression. "What the hell is wrong with you! Did you have to bring that up right here?" Gabriel spat. Will looked amused, saying, "She probably already told her husband. Besides, he seemed fine with it." "Why would he be fine with meeting the man who compromised his wife's virtue?" "Compromised her virtue? What're you talking about?" I asked. He turned on me then, saying, "He didn't tell you?" Then he turned to Will, "You didn't tell her! Well, why would you? You want her to believe that you're this big hero. She's completely blind as to the kind of person you really are! A filthy-" A loud crack echoed through the entire room as my fist connected with his face. A lot of people were looking on wearily. Will's expression was one of amusement mixed with irritation. "HOW DARE YOU STAND HERE AND INSULT MY BROTHER!" I yelled. By now, everyone on the first story of the mansion, which was the majority of the people here tonight, had stopped what they were doing and were looking at us.

Gabriel looked shocked as he stood there, hand pressed against his face. He opened his mouth to say something, and Will cut him off, saying, "Cecily, let's go dance," and he pulled me to the dance floor. Everyone went back to what they were doing. He lifted me slightly and placed me on his feet, and began twirling me around. I smiled, remembering how he used to do this when we were younger, and then I remembered that this would most likely be one of the only times he'd do it again. "You know," he began, "For someone who just punched Gabriel Lightwood, you don't seem too happy. What's wrong?" he asked, voice serious now. I looked up at him, saying, "Nothing, I just realised how much I missed you these past five years. Now, tell me about Tatiana. How exactly did you 'compromise her virtue'?" "Well, you see. When we were twelve, she had this huge crush on me and convinced herself that she was in love with me. She used to follow me around and duck behind objects to stare at me and giggle. It was highly annoying."

"I had to put a stop to it, partly because of the curse, and mostly because I didn't return her feelings. So when we were at a party, I found her diary and she had written 'Tatiana Herondale' all over it, and filled it with poems about how much she loved me and… Well, you get the point. So I went up on the stage and read out her diary to everyone." "Will!" I exclaimed. "What! It worked! She ran out crying, that meddlesome twit, Gabriel, jumped on stage and tried to strangle me and I broke his arm. Gideon just stood there, watching… Odd, you would think he would have been the first to jump on stage and try to stop me, him being the eldest and all." "So that's why he hates you?" "Yup. Because I embarrassed him and his sister in public," he replied, as though we were talking about the weather. "How could you do that! Will! Do you have any idea how embarrassed she must have been? No wonder they hate you!" I exclaimed. He looked at me confused, "Don't look at me like that!" I said. "Like what?" he asked, mystified. "Like you're shocked that I didn't take your side!" He looked a little hurt, and I lowered my voice, saying, "Okay, look at it this way. If I was in love with Gabriel," he cut me off by making a noise of disgust.

I gave him a hard look before continuing, "Anyway. Suppose he had read out my diary in front of a lot of people and made me run out crying, what would you have done?" "I would have jumped on stage and-" He stopped suddenly, jaw clenching, just realising that he would have done the exact same thing that Gabriel had done. "You see? He only did it because he was trying to protect his little sister. And I _know_ you would have done the exact same thing. So really, you can't blame him," I said, looking across to where Gabriel was standing. He was leaning against a wall, looking around. His eyes met mine for a brief second before he looked away. The song that the live musicians were playing ended and another song started, and as it did, Jem and Tessa waltzed up to us and Jem asked, "Did I just see you punch Gabriel Lightwood? Did he cry?" "No, why would he?" I replied. "Sadly, he did not cry. But that would have been amazing to see, wouldn't it?" Will asked, grinning wickedly. I glared at him and he stared at me, an innocent look on his face as he said, "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Teassa exclaimed. She pulled away from Jem and came right up to me, saying, "Come here, Cecily." She pulled me away and in the direction of Gabriel. When we got there, he looked at us wearily and asked, "Did you come here to abuse me more?" Tessa sighed and pushed me in front of him, saying, "Charlotte says you two have to dance together." "What! She did not!" I yelled. Tessa sighed, and said, "Fine. She didn't. But you two _have _to dance. It looks bad that you aren't dancing with your mentor." "Mentor?" Gabriel questioned. "Mentor, trainer, instructor, whatever you want to call yourself," she sounded quite exasperated now. "Now, go dance!" she said, and pushed us on the dance floor.

**Tessa POV:**

I sighed as I pushed Gabriel and Cecily forward to dance. I knew they liked each other, even if they themselves couldn't see it yet, and I wanted them to be together. I didn't want them to end up like me and Will. I knew I was in love with him, and I realised that only _after_ I agreed to marry Jem. Now, I really wished I had told him before. I can't do anything about it now, because I love Jem as well, and I won't hurt him. "Excuse me, but did you just force my little sister to dance with _that_?" I recognised the voice as being Will's, and turned around to stare at him. I didn't think it would be a good idea to tell him that I suspected that Cecily and Gabriel liked each other, so I simply said, "Yes. It looked bad that she wasn't dancing with her trainer." A smile spread across his face, causing my heart to skip a beat, and he said, "Well in that case, would you mind dancing with your trainer?" I nodded and he led me toward the dance floor.

**Cecily POV:**

Gabriel and I looked at each other, and looked away. Tessa and Will danced up to us and Tessa said, "I thought I told you two to dance. Go ahead, what are you waiting for?" Will shot a dirty look at Gabriel before they moved away from us. Gabriel looked at me and hesitantly put his arms around my waist. I stepped up to him and placed my arms around his neck. We danced for a while, and he finally decided to break the awkward silence by saying "That was a powerful hit. I've been teaching you well." "Actually, Will taught me how to punch someone when I was five." I replied. "That sounds just like him, teaching his little sister to punch someone." Irritated, I said, "Must you always do that?" "Do what?" "Insult my brother! Okay, so he read your sister's diary out in front of a lot of people, but I would hardly say that he compromised her virtue." He glared at me and pulled away, saying, "I don't think I want to dance anymore," and then he turned on his heel and walked away. As he did, Henry stopped him and said, "Cecily, Gabriel. There's someone I would like you to meet." We followed him through the crowd of people, to a table, where Charlotte was talking to a man sitting there, who liked like he couldn't have been more than eighteen.

My step faltered when I saw the handsome man, and Gabriel turned to me with a puzzled glance, before following my line of sight to the man. He glared at the man, who stood as we approached them, and I could see that he was only about an inch shorter than Gabriel. He had ginger hair, much like Henry's, that was slightly tousled, and a pair of light, hazel eyes. Did I mention he was handsome? I did? Well, let me emphasize: _He was gorgeous!_ "Cecily, Gabriel. This is my younger brother, Bryan Bryce Branwell." Henry made further introductions, before turning to me, saying, "Cecily, did I just see you punch Gabriel?" "You what! Where was I when this happened?" "You had your back turned, Lottie. You were talking to the Consul. Why don't you sit down? And please don't worry. Stress isn't good for the baby." He said, pulling out a chair for her. Bryan turned to me, saying, "Well, I for one think that a punch like that deserves praise. It was a well- placed and effective." He smiled at me and I blushed. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Gabriel glaring at him.

Gabriel turned to me then, saying, "Let's go dance, Cecily." I looked at him incredulously, "Oh, now you want to dance. I thought you said you didn't want to dance with me anymore?" Bryan turned to me and asked, "Well in that case, may I have this dance, Miss Cecily?" I looked to Henry and Charlotte, but they paid no attention as Henry was busy fussing over her. I then looked to Gabriel, who was still glaring at Bryan, and then he looked at me, probably trying to tell me to not dance with him. So, of course, I looked directly at Gabriel as I took Bryan's hand and said, "Sure, I'd love to dance with you. And please, call me Cecily." Before we left, Henry said, "By the way, Bryan is going to be staying with us for a while."

**Gabriel POV:**

I just met Bryan, and I already knew that I wasn't going to like him. He was openly gawking at Cecily, and more than once I saw his gaze dip down to her exposed chest. I glared at him the entire time, even when he asked her to dance and she accepted. I had a feeling she only agreed to dance with him because she knew it would irritate me. So when Henry said that Bryan would be staying with us for a while, I resisted the urge to grab Cecily and run away with her and hide where he could never find her. _Why do I even care what she does or who she likes? She can do whatever she wants! _Upon hearing what Henry said, Cecily looked at me, took in my glare and smirked, saying, "Lovely. We'd love to have him."

**Soooo…. How was it? Looks like Gabriel has some competition, but don't worry, as you can see, Tessa is going to help out our girl! Next update should be by Saturday, or Sunday, it depends… Bye! Oh and I named his sister Tatiana **_**Ivashkov**_** for any of you Vampire Academy fans out there!**


	7. Chapter 7: Friends and Enemies

**Thanks so much to all my reviewers! I love you all and you're the people who keep me writing ( and my beta, Bri)! **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Infernal Devices**

**Chapter 7:**

**Friends and Enemies:**

**Gabriel POV:**

"So, did you always live at the Institute?" Bryan asked Cecily as we entered the Institute. "No, why?" she questioned. "Because Henry never mentioned you in any of his letters." She quickly explained the story to him. "Oh, so where did you live before?" S_eriously! Do you want to know what colour undergarments she's wearing? _During the entire ride back to the Institute, he had been bombarding her with questions, and it was purely annoying! "Oh, really? Can you speak Welsh?" he asked, when she told him where she used to live. _Why don't you just write a book called 'Idiotic Questions To Ask Cecily'? Of course she speaks Welsh! She's from Wales! _Cecily giggled and said, "Yes, I do. Do you?" she teased. He looked at her, and said, "Pam, ie ddylwn i ei wneud. **(Why, yes I do.)**" _What the? He spoke Welsh! Can he fly? _She raised her eyebrows and said, "Wow! That's so cool! Now I can talk to you and no one will know what we're saying!" Will overheard this and cleared his throat very loudly, saying, "Oeddech chi'n anghofio fy mod yma? Neu fod gall i siarad Cymraeg? **(Did you forget that I'm here? Or that I can speak Welsh?)" **She looked at him and said, "I know you can speak Welsh, Will. And how on earth can anyone not know that you're here when you keep saying things like that?"

She and Bryan walked ahead with the others, while I hung back. Tatiana came up to me and asked, "Are they always like this?" She and her husband had just gotten back from their honeymoon, and were supposed to stay with us for a few days, but after we told them about the problem with Benedict, she refused to stay there. So she and Daniel were going to be staying here for however long they had planned to stay, then they were going to go back to their home. "Yes, yes they are." I replied, looking down. "So, Bryan seems nice," she commented. I looked ahead, where I saw her husband talking to Henry. "Yeah, _nice_. That's hardly the word I would use to describe him. Here, let me help you with your bag." I picked up her bag and lead her to the room she and her husband would be staying in. I didn't know which one to pick, so I picked the one across from mine, next to Gideon's. "Cecily seems like a wonderful person. Better than her brother." "_Wonderful_? Did you not see her slap me?" I vaguely wondered if my sister was right in the head. "Well, Gabriel. You do piss off a lot of people… So…" she trailed off when she saw my look. "Anyway, Cecily is a wonderful person. Very likeable. And I know you've noticed." Her words made me come to a halt. By now we were standing outside of her room and I heard her husband behind me, calling her. "What? Noticed what? What are you talking about?" She smiled at me and took the suitcase from my hand, before saying, "You know _exactly _what I'm talking about."

*****************************THE NEXT MORNING*******************************

**Cecily POV:**

I woke up the next morning and cursed loudly when I saw red covering my bed sheets. Of all the times to come early, it had to be now! I sighed and rolled out of bed, pulling off the sheets and tossing them to the floor. I cleaned myself up and got dressed in record time. Just as I was about to leave my room, Sophie entered, looking shocked to see me already dressed. I mumbled a quick greeting before I fled the room, not wanting to stick around to see her pick up the sheets and discover the cause of my behaviour. I walked to the dining room, hoping that I wouldn't bump into anyone, because when I'm on my period, Bitchy Cecily comes into play, a lot more often than usual. I walked into the dining room. Not seeing anyone, or any food, in sight, I walked into the kitchen. There, I bumped into Tatiana Lightwood. "Watch where you're going! Didn't you see me there?" I snapped, before I instantly regretted it. And to add to my remorse, Will walked in just then, clapping his hands and saying, "Marvellous! My little sister hates her too!" I turned to him, saying, "I don't hate her." Then I turned to Tatiana and said, "I'm sorry for snapping at you. It's just…" I trailed off. "It's alright. But, may I ask why you did?" she inquired.

I looked down my cheeks burning, and stepped closer to her, before whispering, "Umm… It's _that_ time of the month again, for me." Well, at least, I thought I whispered, because I heard Will ask, "Time of the… Oh!" He trailed off as understanding dawned on his face. He got this extremely uncomfortable look and Tatiana said, "Well, why didn't you just say so? It's completely understandable." "Cecily? Completely understandable? I just don't see it," I heard a voice I knew all too well say. Gabriel. Tatiana glared at him, saying, "It's not her fault her Aunt Flow came." Gabriel looked completely confused, saying, "You have an aunt named Flow?" Tatiana and I looked at each other, before bursting out laughing. "He really is very innocent when it comes to these things, isn't he?" I asked. She nodded. "What? Why are you laughing? Did I say something wrong?" Gabriel asked. Tatiana walked up to him and kissed his cheek, saying, "Not at all, dear brother. Come on, Cecily." "Come where." "Well, it's a nice day. I figured you might like to go out, away from the Institute, and the men, due to your…circumstance." "Oh, okay, I'd love to!" "Wait! You didn't answer me! Who's Aunt Flow?" Gabriel asked. Tatiana laughed, before taking me by the arm and yelling, "Ask William," over her shoulder.

**Gabriel POV:**

I looked to Herondale, who said, "Don't ask. Just… just don't." Thinking it was time to change the subject, I said, "So, I think my sister and your sister are becoming good friends," and grabbed a slice of bread, eating it dry. "Don't remind me. I have to put a stop to it. I don't want my sister mingling with the likes of you." I leaned casually against the wall, saying, "As if I want my sister mingling with you. Besides, if they are becoming good friends, let them, I see nothing wrong with it." We were both quiet for a second, as he munched on an apple, and I ate my bread. "So, did you meet Bryan?" I asked. "Yes, I did. He's a slimy little bastard and I want him nowhere near my sister." I was so relieved when he said that. Swallowing the last bit of the bread, I said, "You do know he fancies your sister, right?" He froze mid-bite, before he took the apple out of his mouth, saying, "If he thinks he is going to get my sister, he better think again. I'd kill him and marry her myself before that happens." Just then, Bryan walked into the kitchen. _Speak of the devil…_ Herondale had apparently been thinking what I was, as he mumbled, "Speak of the devil and he shall appear," under his breath.

Bryan looked at the both of us, saying, "Good morning." We nodded at him. He leaned awkwardly against the counter, before asking, "Have any of you seen, Cecily, by chance?" _Gabriel, restrain yourself. There is no need to grab him, drag him to the roof, and push him off_. _Not yet._ William looked like he wanted to do the same. "No. _My sister. _Is still in her room, asleep," he lied blatantly. "Oh, she's your sister? Well, I thought you two did look alike…" _Did he not hear her say that she and Will were siblings last night during the ride back? Oh right! He was too busy trying to look down her dress!_ "Don't bother trying to wake her up. She might kill you. She hates it when people wake her up," William said, with a not so subtle warning tone in his voice. "Oh, okay. I'll just wait until she wakes up then," he said, leaving the kitchen. "Really, Will? Did you have to lie?" I said. "I didn't see you trying to stop me. Besides, now he'll think she's here. He'll probably wait outside her door all day. And did you just call me Will? Are we on a nickname basis again?" I rolled my eyes and left, saying, "Goodbye, William."

****************************SOME TIME LATER**********************************

When it was time for Cecily's training session, I walked to the training room and sat on the bench, waiting for her. A while later, the door opened, and Cecily walked in, arm in arm with my sister. And guess who was behind them? Bryan. Now, wait, say his name again, this time with a glare and a growl. That's right. _Bryan._ "Hey, Gabriel! You'll never guess where we found Bryan!" Cecily said, trying for an easy-going tone, but failing. Which led me to believe that Bryan had figured out that Will and I had lied to him and he had told her. "Lemme guess. Outside Cecily's bedroom door?" I asked dryly. "Well…Yes, but how did you know?" Tatiana asked. Cecily turned to the both of them, and said, "You guys should probably leave." They nodded and left. Cecily turned to me, with a glare and her hands on her hips. "Why did you lie to him?" she asked. Now, you see that? Right there. Why did she immediately think that I had something to do with it. "As much as I'd _love_ to take the credit for doing so, I'm afraid it was your dear brother who did that. I merely stood there, watching on as he mislead him."

"Well, you could have at least stopped him." "Why? He's your big brother. And while I do admit that neither Will nor I like Bryan, Will was just trying to protect you. So cut him some slack, he just cares about you, that's all. I would have done the same for my sister." She pondered this for a moment, before saying, "So, what are we doing today?" "I was thinking we could start some knife throwing."

**Cecily POV:**

Knife throwing? I always wanted to learn how to do that, so I could threaten people with it, but when I asked my dad he said no. Odd. I wonder why? "Just stand here, and aim at that target," he said, handing me a knife and pointing to a red mark on the wall. I aimed and threw it, and it sank in to the wall a couple inches above the target. He handed me another and it was an inch too high. "You're slanting you're arm too much. Keep it like this," he said, and he stood behind me, very closely, so close that I was vaguely aware of his body against mine. He straightened my arm a bit, and placed a knife in my right hand, keeping his right hand on mine. His left hand was on my waist, holding me firmly in that position. "See, if you keep your hand like this, it'll hit the target," he explained, voice sounding strangely strained. I could feel his warm breath on my neck, and I shivered involuntarily. Still holding my right hand with his, he pulled it back and I released the knife. It hit the target.

"**See, I told you," he said. I turned around to look at him, and realised how close our faces were. He was staring at me with the oddest expression. His face started coming closer to mine, and I realised that I was leaning in as well. Suddenly, I snapped out of it and pulled away from him, stumbling over my words as I said, "Well… I –I must be going now." "Yes, yes. Me too," he said hurriedly. I turned around and left, going straight to my room. That night, I dreamt of emerald green eyes.**

**Well….. How was it? Good or bad? Lemme know! Next Update : not sure :P might be Friday! Review please! **


	8. Chapter 8: Dreams and Wishes

**Okay! Time for … what chapter is this again? Oh yeah! 8! Thanks so much to all my loyal reviewers! This one is for you! IMPORTANT AUTHORS NOTE BELOW, PLEASE READ! Btw, does anyone else feel sorry for Rob Pattz after hearing about K-Stew's infidelity? I love the both of them so much, but I hate what she did.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Infernal Devices. Cassie Clare does. **

**Chapter 8:**

**Dreams and Wishes:**

**Gabriel POV:**

I waited until she left the room to go stand near the door. I poked my head out and stared at her retreating form. When she was no longer in sight, I exited the room and walked quickly in the direction of my room. _I almost kissed her! _I thought. I really hoped I didn't run into anyone, but of course, things never go your way now do they? As I was nearing my room, I bumped into Will. Of all the people in here, it just _had_ to be him. "Going somewhere, Gabe?" "Yeah, to my room," I answered, ignoring the fact that he just called me 'Gabe' and hoping he would realise that I wanted to end this conversation. "How was training?" he asked, "Did anything happen?" I suddenly became very interested in looking at the pattern on the floor, as I said, "No. Why?" "Because I just saw Cecily, and she seemed quite flustered." My head snapped up and I asked, "Nothing unusual happened. Why? Did she say something?" "No, she didn't even see me." I sighed in relief inwardly, then said, "Nothing happened."

He stared at me for a second, before he said, "Okay, then." I nodded at him and left, but I felt him staring at me the entire time, until I rounded the corner and entered my room, slamming the door shut. I looked out of the window, at the dark blue colour of the sky. Soon it would be pitch black, with only a few stars. I stripped off my t-shirt leaving me in just my slacks, and I jumped into bed, falling asleep instantly. **(A/N Lucky bed! :P)**

"_Gabriel?" I woke up instantly, as I heard someone say my name. I turned and looked in the direction of… Cecily? She had a candle in her hand, illuminating the darkness. She walked closer to me, and when she reached the head of my bed, she placed the candle on the little bedside table. She then lay on the bed beside me. "Cecily!" I exclaimed, jumping up. She straddled me and pushed me back on the bed, whispering, "Shh…" in my ear. She bit down on my ear lightly, and her tiny hands trailed down over my bare chest. Her hands were nearing the waistband of my pants-_

I woke up instantly, jumping up and falling off the bed, getting tangled in the sheets in the process. I was sweating and breathing hard. Getting up, I walked over to the basin filled with water, and splashed some on my face, the freezing temperature of it helping to wake me up. I got back in bed, and tried to clear my head of all thoughts about Cecily. When that didn't work, I settled for trying to figure out what the dream meant, and I came up with nothing. _It was just a dream. Nothing real, obviously. It's just because you almost kissed her. Yeah, that's what it was. Just a dream, a reaction to what just happened… Nothing that could ever happened, though. Could it happen? Did she want it to? Yeah. I wish._

**Cecily POV:**

"_Cecily…" I heard a soft, sing- song voice say. I opened my eyes, and looked around. I was in my bed, with the covers pulled around me, and something hard behind me. Like a wall. I turned around, and was met with the emerald-green eyes of Gabriel Lightwood, who was definitely not a wall. He was lying on his left side facing me, propped up on his elbow. His right hand started moving towards me, and I jumped up and moved away from him, almost falling off the bed, but his hands shot out, steadying me. "What are you doing?" I exclaimed, as I stared at him with wide eyes. He pulled me closer to him and returned to his former position, pushing me back gently so I was on my back. "Gabriel?..." I whispered, as his hand gently stroked the side of my face. He pushed my hair back and whispered, "Shh. It's okay," and lowered his head. His face was nearing mine and-_

I woke up with a start, and I shivered, suddenly feeling cold. I heard a whoosh of air and realised that my window was open. _Didn't I close it before I went to bed? _I got off the bed and moved towards the window, closing it. "BOO!" I screamed and a hand was clamped over my mouth. I tried kicking the person, and I succeeded in hitting them in the stomach. "Oof! OW! Cecily! Why'd you do that?" I sighed as I recognised the voice as being my brother's, but the feeling of relief was soon replaced with anger. I turned around and asked, "What the hell are you doing? You scared the living daylights out of me!" "I'm sorry, I wanted to talk to you," he said. "Why didn't you?" I asked. "You were sleeping." "Why did you open the window?" "It got hot." "Why did you scare me?" "I got bored." I sighed and walked back to my bed and sat down, with him following suit. "What did you want to talk to me about?" "How was training today?" he asked. I looked away, and said, "Good. I learned knife-throwing," trying to sound casual. "Did anything… odd happen?" _Yeah. I almost kissed Gabriel Lightwood._

"No. Why do you ask?" "No reason, you just seemed a bit flustered when I saw you leaving the training room. Also I bumped in to Gabriel, and he was acting strange." _Did Gabriel tell him something? _"Well, nothing happened? Why? Did he say something?" He looked at me strangely for a second, before saying, "You know. Gabriel asked me the exact same thing." "Oh, really? It was probably because of the manner in which you were interrogating him," I said, hoping my voice didn't give away anything. "He told me nothing happened." "Nothing out of the ordinary happened," I lied, "Are you feeling okay?" I asked, placing a hand on his forehead. "Yes, why?" he asked, removing my hand. "Because you're asking the oddest questions," I replied. "Well, yes. I just have this feeling…" he trailed off. "Well. It's late and I must be getting to bed," I announced, hoping he'd get the hint. "Cece, are you okay?" he asked, before continuing, "Because you jumped up from your sleep as though you were having a nightmare."

_Now what was I supposed to say?_ I looked at him, and said, "It's just… Ella…" trailing off. His face softened and he pulled me in a hug, and he asked, "You miss her, don't you?" "Yes, even though I was pretty young when she died. I saw her body, you know. After she… died." He kissed my forehead before saying, "It's late. Get some sleep." I lay on the bed and he pulled the covers over me. He pushed my hair back and said, "Goodnight, chwaer fach. Rwy'n dy garu di.** (Goodnight, little sister. I love you.)**" I smiled before saying, "Goodnight. Rwyf wrth fy modd i chi hefyd **(Goodnight. I love you too)**" He smiled at me and left, leaving me with my thoughts of Gabriel and our almost kiss.

**Will POV:**

I left Cecily's room, shutting the door quietly behind me. "Couldn't sleep either?" I heard a voice say. Tessa. I would recognise her voice anywhere. I looked up at her and said, "I was just talking to my sister." "Is she okay?" Tessa seemed like she was trying hard to make conversation with me. Ever since I admitted that I loved her, and I heard of her and Jem's engagement, we hardly ever talked. We only did so in public so no one, especially Jem, would get suspicious. I tried to remember the last time we talked with no one around, then I looked at her and realised she was waiting for an answer. "Oh, yes. She's fine." "How come she did not come to dinner? Or Gabriel?" _Hmmm…. Now there's a question I should've asked her. _"She wasn't hungry. As for Gabriel, I have no idea why he was absent." When I finished speaking, I looked down at my shoes. "Tessa," I began, at the exact same time she said, "Will." I offered her a small smile and said, "You first."

She looked like she wanted to tell me something important, but just then, Jem rounded the corner, and said, "Tessa, darling. What are you doing out here? Are you okay?" He looked between the both of us, then asked, "Is everything alright?" "Yup. Tessa was just enquiring about Cecily. I would love to stay and chat but I'm dreadfully tired and I require a soft bed right about now," I said. He looked at me for a while, then said, "Okay. Come, Tessa. I'll take you back to your room." He held out his hand and she took it, and as she did, I caught a glimpse of the engagement ring on her finger. They began to walk, and when they were about halfway down the hall, Tessa turned her head, and looked at me and smiled. I smiled back and waved. She turned her head away from me and I stood there, watching, as my best friend walked away with the love of my life.

**Awww…! Do you feel sorry for Will now? And what about Gabriel and Cecily's dreams? :P Okay, so. IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE. PLEASE READ: Next week I'm taking a short vacation. I'm leaving on the 1****st**** and coming back on the 4****th****, so next update should be on the 6****th****, to be safe. I'll try my best to update on time. Bye!**


	9. Chapter 9: Breakfast and Realisations

**Hiiii! Guess who's back? I'll give you a hint… It's me, back from my four day vaca! Okay, thanks for all the reviews and here's another chap for you guys!**

**Chapter 9:**

**Breakfast Disasters and Realisations:**

**Gabriel POV:**

_Just don't look at her, Gabriel. How hard is it to ignore her? Very. _I leaned forward and rested my hands against the table, and tried to push the dream I had last night out of my head. And I also tried to ignore the fact that Cecily was sitting right next to me, and that Bryan was right next to her. Luckily for me, Gideon sat on my left, so I at least had one person here to distract me. I leaned nearer to him and asked, "Where's Tatiana?" "She and her husband went out this morning," Gideon replied. "Gabriel, how come you and Cecily didn't come down to dinner last night?" Jem asked. I looked at Jem, realising that everyone's eyes were now on me and Cecily. "Oh… well, I wasn't feeling too well last night," Cecily replied, and continued eating. _Thanks so much for stealing my excuse, Cecily. _Now everyone was looking at me. "Umm…I wasn't hungry," I said. Just then, my stomach growled loudly, reminding me that I hadn't eaten in while.

"Your stomach seems to disagree with you, Gabriel. You sound very hungry." William said, smirking mischievously. "I said I wasn't hungry _last night. _I said nothing about this morning," I retorted, stuffing my mouth with bread so I had an excuse not to answer immediately if anyone asked me a question. Everyone went back to what they were doing, Jem and Tessa were talking, Gideon had sneaked off and was currently talking to Sophie. I leaned back against my chair and raised an eyebrow, looking at Henry Branwell. I watched as he tried to tinker with some device and eat at the same time. He picked up a knife, and instead of putting it in the butter, he dipped it in the milk, and began pasting his bread. I stifled a laugh and saw William doing the same. We both watched as Henry dipped his knife in the milk again, but this time when he moved to paste his bread, he accidently cut his hand instead.

"OOW!" he howled, knife falling from his hand and hitting the floor with a clatter. He jumped up and shook his now bleeding hand as everyone looked at him. Charlotte got up, with a bit difficulty due to her slightly swollen stomach, and said, "Henry, what's wrong!?" "I'll tell you what happened," William began. "Will…" Jem said, then trailed off, sounding exasperated. "What?," William asked, eyes widening in mock surprise, "I was just going to tell Charlotte that her husband simply could not just take his hands off that device for a few minutes to butter his bread. You know that makes me wonder… Charlotte, if Henry can't take his hands off of a piece of metal for a few minutes, how did you get him to take his hands off of it long enough to knock you up?"

Well, here's something that never happened at my previous home before. I heard Cecily sigh beside me and Tessa hissed, "Will! Stop being so rude." Jem looked at Charlotte, and said, "Ignore him. I'm still trying to teach him how to keep his thoughts to himself." William turned to Jem and said, "Oh, like it's my fault Henry's an idiot." "ENOUGH!" We all turned, shocked, to the source of the outburst: Charlotte. Her tiny body was shaking, and for a woman that small, she sure had a loud voice. "I AM SO TIRED OF EVERYONE ALWAYS CALLING MY HUSBAND AN IDIOT! THE CLAVE ALWAYS DOES IT, BUT I CAN HANDLE THEM." She turned to William, and continued yelling, "BUT YOU! WHAT HAS HENRY EVER DONE TO YOU!? HE'S THINKS OF YOU LIKE A SON! AND ALL YOU EVER DO IS INSULT HIM!" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gideon and Sophie enter the dining room again, brought here by Charlotte's shouting. Charlotte continued again, in a much quieter tone this time, saying, "I thought that after Jessie left, you would try to stop insulting him… but…" She never got to finish, she just collapsed in tears.

Henry put his arms around her and turned to us, saying, "It's just the hormones," then to Charlotte, "Come on, Lottie," and they left the room. Everyone was glaring at William. Even me. I had come to like Charlotte a lot, and even Henry. They took me and my brother in when our fa- Benedict put us out. I would always be grateful to them. "Nice going, Will. You made her cry," Bryan said. Will turned on him and said, "Did I ask for your opinion?" "Will, don't be rude. He's right," Cecily said. _Why is she sticking up for Bryan_? William stood up, pushed back his chair, and left. Gideon and Sophie left as well, soon followed by Jem and Tessa. Then it was just me, Cecily and Bryan left. "Will you?" Bryan asked. "Umm… Sure!" she said. "How about we leave now?" he suggested. She nodded and got up.

_Where were they going? _I opened my mouth to ask them, but then thought better of it. Bryan rested his arm on her back and led her out of the dining room. _How dare he touch her!_ Furious, I got up and went to the only person who would be able to stop them: William. I barged into his room, not bothering to knock, and he whirled on me. "What the hell are you doing!" "Cecily is going out with Bryan," I said, and that was all I needed to say, because he got this angry look on his face and said, "Like hell she is," and stalked out of the room. I followed him, and I felt slightly guilty for tattling on her, and a small part of me wondered why I did so in the first place. I followed William outside of the Institute, where we saw Cecily and Bryan about to get into a carriage. "CECILY!" Will yelled. She stopped and turned to him, looking shocked. "Where are you going? Especially with _him_," he spat, looking at Bryan, who gave the both of us a nasty glare.

She looked at me, and I saw her put the pieces together. "You! You told him I was going out with Bryan!" I stayed silent. "You are not going anywhere with him. You are still a child!" Will said. "A child! I'm sixteen!" "Barely…" I mumbled. "Stay out of this!" Cecily yelled at me. "As much as I hate to admit it, he's right. You only turned sixteen three weeks ago. And I am eighteen!" William said. Cecily crossed her arms and glared at him, saying, "So?" "So, until you are eighteen, I am your legal guardian! And you are not going anywhere with him!" Cecily smirked at him before sliding into the carriage beside Bryan. "Watch me," she said haughtily, before the driver snapped the reigns and the horses took off, leaving me and William standing there like idiots, but not before I caught the glare she aimed at me. A glare that said that there would be hell to pay later.

**Cecily POV:**

"How dare he! How dare they!" I fumed. Bryan put a gentle arm on mine, and said, "I'm sure Will was just looking out for you. He's your elder brother, so it's natural for him to act like that." "Okay, fine. I understand why _he_ did. But Gabriel? Why did he tell? What I do is none of his business!" I continued fuming until we got to town. "What do you want to do?" he asked. "Let's just take a walk," I decided. We walked for a while, and I admit I did have fun with him. He was very funny and sweet, and I just loved it how he always ran his hands through his red hair when he got nervous. "Are you cold?" he asked. "A little," I admitted. He took off his coat and gave it to me. I blushed and took it. "You have a beautiful blush," he said. "Oh…thank you," I mumbled. I looked up, and realised that the sky was getting darker. "Oh! How late is it? I should get back! I might miss training!" "Okay, well, let's go," he said.

We headed back to the carriage, and I sat down beside him. Halfway there, the carriage bumped, causing me to bump into him. He smiled and looked down at me. His face was nearing mine, and I swallowed, and pulled away. He looked at me and smiled sheepishly, saying, "Sorry." We didn't talk for the rest of the drive. When we got back to the Institute, we both stood awkwardly in the doorway. "I had a good time, today," Bryan said. "Me too." He stepped closer to me, and leaned down, this time without hesitation. Just as our lips were about to touch, someone gasped, "Bryan?" I stepped away from him, and blushed as I saw Henry and Jem standing there. Jem looked slightly surprised while Henry looked angry. "Bryan, can I talk to you for a minute?" Henry asked, pulling Bryan away. Jem walked up to me and said, "So. How was your day?" I stared at him and he said, "Look, Cecily. Just… watch yourself around Bryan, okay? You're Will's little sister, and I've kind of come to think of you as a sister as well. And I don't want to see you get hurt, okay? And if Will comes down hard on you, just remember that he's your big brother and he worries about you." I smiled at Jem and nodded, saying, "If it makes you feel any better, I've also come to think of you as a brother."

We smiled at each other and went our separate ways. _Time for training, and time to find a certain Gabriel Lightwood and give him a piece of my mind._

**Gabriel POV:**

"I mean, why did she even go out with that twit?" I asked Tatiana. For the past couple of hours, I had been complaining to Tatiana about Bryan, and I'm sure she was getting pretty bored. I looked at her, sitting on my bed, and she asked, "And why are you so upset? I thought you didn't like her?" "I don't, which is why I'm confused." Gideon walked in just then, and sat on my bed, asking, "Confused about what?" "Gabriel likes Cecily," Tatiana said. "Ahh… I was beginning to wonder when he would realise." "Could you please not talk about me like I'm not here?" I asked, irritated. "Come on Gabriel. You know it's true. You told me that you can't stop thinking about her, and that dream. It only means one thing." Tatiana said. "I don't think he knows," Gideon said. "Knows what? What are you two talking about?" "Oh come on, Gabriel. Even I can see it," Gideon said.

"See what?" I asked. "That you are in love with Cecily," Tatiana clarified. "What? W-what? I-I am not- I do not… What?" I spluttered. The two of them started laughing at me and I kicked the wall in frustration, before saying, "I have to train Cecily," and walking out. I practically ran to the training room and sat down, waiting for her. _What the hell are they talking about? I do not love her! _The doors to the room banged open and Cecily stormed in, looking like an angry avenging angel. Her hair was out and hung loosely and her blue eyes were stormy with rage. _She looks so beautiful. Did I just…? Oh come on Gabriel! Stop denying it to yourself! _I watched as she stalked angrily towards me, and I stood, happily awaiting her rage, and realised with a pang, that Gideon and Tatiana were right. _I am in love with Cecily Herondale._

**AHHHH! He admitted it! And I am updating a day early because my next update will be Friday. So what did you think? Are any of the characters OOC? Review and tell me! And I'll let you borrow Will and Gabriel! **


	10. Chapter 10: Kisses and Dangers

**Hello there! Okay, so I realise I forgot to put the disclaimer for the last chap… so here it is:**

**DISCLAIMER: **

**ME: Gabriel?**

**GABRIEL: Yes?**

**ME: Can you do the disclaimer for me?**

**GABRIEL: Why?**

**ME: *looks at him incredulously* Because I said so!**

**GABRIEL: Not a good enough reason.**

**ME: How bout this: Do it because I'm the author of this fanfic, and I decide what happens to you! **

**GABRIEL: *Stares at me***

**ME: You know, Jem's marrying Tessa and Cecily seems to hate you and. Since Will is all alone, I wonder if you two would make a good couple?**

**GABRIEL: *narrows eyes* You wouldn't**

**ME: *crosses arms and stares triumphantly* Try me**

**GABRIEL: Fine. See and Bri do not own the Infernal Devices. **

**Chapter 10:**

**Kisses and Dangers:**

**Henry POV: (The talk with Bryan):**

I held my little brother by the arm and pulled him into a corner. Once there, I released him, and asked, "What the hell were you doing with Cecily?!" He looked at me and casually replied, "I was trying to kiss her," adding on a cocky smile at the end. I stepped closer to him, and towered over him, saying, "Did you already forget why you're here? Did you forget what you did to get you sent here in the first place?" His jaw clenched and I continued, "Did you forget that despite how hard it was to look past what you did, Charlotte and I welcomed you with open arms and gave you a place to stay?" He didn't answer; he just looked away, clenching his fists. "I don't ever want to see you near Cecily Herondale again!"

His head snapped up to meet my glare, and he matched it with one of his own, and tried to walk past me. I placed a hand on his chest, effectively stopping him, and said, "Do I make myself clear?" He looked at me, eyes tight, and said, "Crystal," before pushing off my hand and walking away.

**Gabriel POV:**

"What the hell is your problem? Why did you tell Will? Why are you meddling in things that don't concern you?" I didn't even flinch, I just stood there, staring at her, and I happily welcomed her rage, revelling in my new discovery. _I loved her! How could I not see it before?_ "Are you going to stand there like an idiot or are you going to answer my question!?" She walked up to me and stood right in front of me. Sighing, I walked across the room, and threw my seraph blade on the table, picking up the throwing knives. "Let's continue working on knife throwing," I said. "No! I refuse to work with you until you tell me why you did what you did earlier! I understand you may hate me, but-"

She stopped talking as I turned around and threw a knife through the air in anger. We watched as it sunk perfectly into the target on the wall. _She thought I hated her? _I started walking towards her and she shrank back. I grasped her arm and asked roughly, "You think I hate you?" "I know you do!" she yelled. "How could you think that?" I yelled angrily. She looked at me in shock. I had never yelled at her before. "How could you think that I hate you?" I asked in a softer tone. I now had her backed up against the wall and our bodies were pressed together. "I don't hate you. Cecily, I could never hate you. Can't you see that? Don't you know that?" "Gabriel…" she said, her voice barely a whisper. Without thinking about what I was doing, or what the consequences would be, I leaned forward and kissed her. She didn't even struggle, she gave in completely.

Her hands wound themselves in my hair and I wrapped my arms around her waist. The kiss became faster. We clutched at each other desperately, and our breathing increased. We fit together perfectly, like pieces of a puzzle. I ran my tongue gently over her bottom lip and she parted her lips. I slipped my tongue in her mouth, exploring it. I pulled her closer to me, and I tried to hitch her leg over my waist, and she pulled away, whimpering. "Sorry, I got carried away," I whispered to her, looking into her blue eyes. I brushed her hair back gently, and placed my hand at the back of her head, pulling her closer to me and placing a butterfly kiss on her lips. Once, then twice. I kissed her softly again, then pulled away. Our foreheads were pressed together, and so were our bodies, since I was still holding her in my arms. I tried to control my breathing and saw her doing the same. "Maybe we shouldn't train today," I said, stepping away from her.

I left her standing there as I exited the room and went straight to mine. I plopped down on my bed and stared at the ceiling, a goofy smile spreading across my face. _I kissed her! And she kissed me back!_ I thought as I lay there, revelling in my joy, and was soon brought out of it by someone screaming, then yelling, "HELP! SOMEONE HELP!" I jumped off my bed, recognising the scream as Cecily's, and grabbed my steele, witchlight, and a seraph blade. _Was the Institute under attack? _I thought as I hurriedly exited my room. I looked out and saw the halls empty. Maybe everyone was already downstairs? I turned around and bumped into someone. William. "Did you hear that scream?" he asked. "Yeah, it sounded like-" I was cut off by another scream and we both went in its direction. We followed the sound until we came to someone's room. _What? _Looking at each other in confusion, we pushed the door, and finding it locked, I carved a rune into it and it flew open. William and I barged into the room and took in the sight before us, and I looked into Cecily's fear filled eyes, and knew that I had misjudged her screams.

**Cecily POV:**

Gabriel left the room and I stood staring behind him. _He kissed me! _I pressed my fingers to my still tingling lips and couldn't help the smile that made its way across my face. That was my very first kiss ever, and a very good one at that. My feet seemed to float on air as I walked out of the room. I remembered the way his hands felt against my waist, the pain in his voice when he asked me if I really thought that he hated me. I was falling for Gabriel, and very hard at that. I was caught up in my very own bubble of joy, and was extremely pissed when I bumped into someone. I turned; ready to chew them out, when I saw that it was Bryan. He smiled at me and said, "You seem very happy." There was something off about his voice, but I ignored it and tried to get past him, but he stepped in front on me, saying, "Hey, I thought you had training?"

"Umm…yeah, I did, but Gabriel and I decided not to have training today." "Why not?" he asked. "I dunno… We just didn't feel up to it today." "Well, you were in there for a while. Did you start training then stop? What were you doing?" I looked down and tried to stop myself from blushing as I remembered the kiss between me and Gabriel. "Knife- throwing, but I'm not very good at it." I replied. "Well, in that case, if you have no objections, would you like me to help you with that?" he asked shyly, hands in his pockets. "Well… It couldn't hurt…" He smiled brightly and took me by the arm, saying, "Great! Let's go!" We walked back to the training room, and when we got there, he handed me a knife and told me to aim for the target. I did, and it missed, landing above the target. I glared at the knife, as thought that would make it slide down into the centre of the target.

Upon seeing my glare, he chuckled, and handed me another knife, saying, "That wasn't bad, but you're bending your arm too much. Try this," he said, and came up behind me, and I mean _right _behind me. He placed an arm around my waist, instead of on it, and I turned to look at him, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "You know what?" he began, taking the knife out of my hand and placing it in his waistband, then placing his other arm around my waist, "Maybe we should do something else… other than train." I gulped, still looking at him, and said, "Like what?" while trying to get out of his arms. Then I smelled the alcohol on his breath. He had been drinking. He turned me around so my back was to him again, and said, "Like this," and kissed my neck. Startled, I jumped and tried to push him off me. I succeeded and I tried to back away from him but he pinned my front to the wall, so that my back was to him.

He squeezed my ass, and I began to panic. I lashed out with my foot and hit him in the groin. He doubled over and fell to the floor, and I ran, but he grabbed my foot and pulled me on the floor with him. "You little bitch!" he yelled, and bent me over on my hands and knees, and mounted me from behind. I was crying now, and as he hiked up my skirt from behind, I dropped on my stomach and rolled on my back, hitting him in the stomach, and I ran from the room. Something hard barrelled into me, and nearly knocked me into the wall. I gasped from the pain and I felt someone pull my arms roughly and start to drag me. Looking up, I saw it was Bryan. He dragged me along the floor as I tried to get his hands off me.

He dragged me all the way down the corridor, and I saw Gabriel's room in the distance. _Yes! If I call out to him, he'll help me! _When Bryan pulled me past Gabriel's door, I screamed, and yelled, "HELP! SOMEONE HELP!" I was hit in the back of the head and told to shut up, then I was yanked across the hall and pushed up in a corner. Bryan took the throwing knife he had placed in his pocket earlier and pressed it against my throat. "Shut the hell up! If you scream I won't hesitate to kill you! And I won't hesitate to use your body for my own needs after your dead!" he snarled. I heard Gabriel's door open, followed by the sound of footsteps. Bryan continued to drag me until we got to his room. He threw me on his bed and went to lock the door. I, of course, got off the bed and tried to jump out of the window, seeing that it was my only escape. Bryan pulled hard on my hair, yanking my head back and turning me around.

He lashed out with his foot and kicked me hard in the stomach, causing me to fly across the room. My back hit the headboard of the bed and Bryan pounced on me, and he looked like he was flying, or levitating, because he stayed in the air way too long. He straddled me and held me down, and I realised that there was no longer a knife being held to my throat. Taking advantage of this, I screamed loudly and trashed about in the bed. I was slapped hard, and he said, "Stop moving!" I refused to do this, and he said, "Fine then. Have it your way." He snapped his fingers, and four pieces of rope flew out from under the bed and wrapped themselves around my hands and feet, bounding me to the bed. _What was that? I've never heard of any Shadowhunter being able to do that! _

Smiling sadistically, he leaned down and kissed me. I bit his tongue hard when he slipped it in my mouth, and he pulled back, smacking my face hard and yelling, "You little whore!" He took a seraph blade from the bedside table and cut my dress down the front. He looked at my almost naked body, and his eyes clouded with lust. He began kissing, sucking and biting my neck, and I screamed in pain when he squeezed my hips and bit down on my neck so hard that he drew blood. My hips were also bleeding from when his fingernails bit into my flesh. Tears were streaming down my face. He pulled back and smiled at me, and that was when I detected the insanity in his eyes. He looked truly frightening in that moment, grinning evilly at me, with my blood reddening his mouth.

He hands were nearing my underwear, when the door was pushed. Someone was outside. Bryan didn't realise this, and I kept my mouth shut. "I'm going to enjoy this," he said. The door flew open, and standing there was Will, along with Gabriel. They took in the scene in front of them and their faces contorted with fury. My eyes met Gabriel's and I sighed in relief.

**Do you hate Bryan now? :P Okay, so what did you think about the kiss? What do you think Gabriel and Will are gonna do? What do you want to see them do? Is the story moving too fast or too slow? Are any characters OOC? BW, When an author says their story is on HIATUS what does that mean? :P Drop me a review and lemme know! Next update: Tuesday. But remember: more reviews= faster updating!**


	11. Chapter 11: Fights and Rebuilding

**I was COMPLETELY blown away by all the reviews I got! Over 30! And my other story got over 50! Okay, here we go!**

**DISCLAIMER: **

**ME: WILLIAM HERONDALE!**

**WILL: You called?**

**ME: GABRIEL LIGHTWOOD!**

**Gabriel: Yes?**

**ME: *Stares at sexy men in front of her, blushes and bats eyelashes* Can one of you do the disclaimer for me?**

**GABRIEL: I did it the last time. It's all yours Herondale *walks away***

**WILL: …**

**ME: Well…. Go ahead. Stop staring at Tessa!**

**WILL: What! Oh, right. Sel and Bri do not own the Infernal Devices.**

**Chapter 11:**

**Fights and Re-building Relationships:**

**Gabriel POV:**

Cecily looked up as William and I rushed into the room. Her eyes met mine and she sighed in relief. White hot anger coursed through my veins as I ran at Bryan and pulled him off of Cecily. He cursed loudly as I punched him, yelling, "You rapist! You're gonna regret what you did! I'll kill you!" What I said was true. I _wanted_ to kill him so badly for what he tried to do to her. I kicked him in the stomach and he flew across the room. William barrelled into him and somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered Cecily. I turned to her, and I almost fainted at what I saw. She was restrained by ropes on the bed, with tears streaming down her face. I ran to her and cut the ropes. I sat next to her and she curled up against me, whimpering. I pulled off my coat and wrapped her in it. Her tiny frame was shaking as her body was racked with sobs. I rubbed her back soothingly and whispered, "It's okay, you're safe," to her.

"You little prick! How dare you try to hurt my sister!" William yelled, and slashed at Bryan with his seraph blade. Cecily pulled back and stared at me, and I realised that this was the first time I had ever seen her cry. I wiped her tears and she leaned against my chest, more tears falling down her face. "Cecily? Did he…" "No! B-but he-he t-tried to," she sobbed into my chest. "What in the name of the Angel is going on here!?" I turned to the doorway to see Charlotte, Henry, Tessa and Jem standing there, looking confused and very tired. They looked at William, who was currently strangling Bryan, back to me and Cecily, and understanding dawned in their faces. Surprisingly, it was Henry who reacted first. He strode up to William and pulled him off of his brother, saying, "Will, I think he's had enough. Stop." "Stop!" William looked at him incredulously, "You want me to stop! Did he stop when my sister begged him to!?" he yelled, then proceeded to punch Bryan continuously. I had to side with him there. He was right.

Tessa and Charlotte came over to the two of us and both placed a hand on either of Cecily's shoulders. I looked over and saw both Jem and Henry trying to pull William off of Bryan, so I reluctantly left Cecily with Charlotte and Tessa to go aid them. "Let me go!" William screamed when we pried him off of the bloody mess that was now Bryan, while all I wanted to do was grab Cecily and hide her away from all this in a safe place, preferably in my arms. "Will," Jem began quietly, "Maybe you should go see if Cecily is okay." Trust Jem to always remain calm in situations like this. William nodded and went off to see Cecily. He was about to pull her in his arms, but she was pulled away by Charlotte, Tessa and Sophie, who had apparently just arrived. I was surprised when I saw my brother, sister, and her husband in the doorway. "Will, we're just going to help her get cleaned up. Then you can have her back, okay?" Charlotte told him. He shook his head and drew his sister close to him. Tessa stepped up then, and put an arm on his shoulder. He tensed, and she said, "Will. Please." He nodded and left with them, face tight.

Henry turned to Gideon, Tatiana and Daniel and said, "The rest of you can leave. Jem and Gabriel will help me with this." They nodded and left the three of us alone with Henry's prick of a brother on the floor. "Didn't I tell you," Henry began, "To stay away from Cecily Herondale!" he finished with a yell. Bryan laughed loudly, then said, "You came to early. If you had come later I would've had her screaming louder than that." I snapped and kicked him hard in the stomach, then held him by his neck, and screamed, "What did you say? Say it again and I'll snap your neck!" He grinned at me cockily and said, "Do it. I dare you." I threw his pathetic body on the floor and Jem said, "I think Bryan has overstayed his welcome," the slight glare in his eyes the only indication of his anger. "I agree with you, Jem," Henry said, then hauled his brother up by the shirt, and dragged him down the stairs, with Jem and I following. When we got to the doors of the Institute, Henry threw him out, and said, "I don't ever want to see your face again."

The little idiot had the audacity to laugh, and say, "Go ahead! Throw me out! Never mind that! He will give me eternal life! I'll never die! He promised me! I'll make you all regret this! He's promised me that he'll kill you all! Then I'll have Cecily for myself!" I took a menacing step towards him at this, and said, "If you ever touch her again-" "You'll what! Kill me? HA! Just tell your little warlock friend, Tessa, that her brother is waiting for her!" Jem's face darkened and Henry slammed the doors of the Institute in Bryan's face. "Who's 'he'? Who is he talking about? And I thought Tessa's brother was dead?" Jem sighed, and he looked like he wanted to say something, but Henry gave him a look and he shut up. "We will discuss this tomorrow. It's late and I want to go to bed," Henry said, leaving no room for discussion. I walked off, leaving the two of them standing there.

**Will POV:**

"Are you warm enough?" I asked my little sister as I pulled the covers up over her. "Will, I'm fine. Stop fussing." I lay under the sheets next to her and wrapped my arms around her. There was no way I was leaving her alone tonight. She immediately curled up against me. "Is he gone?" she asked. "Yes, I suppose he's either gone… or dead. I prefer dead." She sniffled and hid her face in my chest. After a while, I asked, "Cecily?", and was met by silence. I looked down and saw that she was asleep. I carefully slid out from under her and, after checking to make sure that she was okay, I left the room. I walked all the way down to the balcony, and when I got there, I realised I wasn't the only one who liked this spot. I squinted my eyes to get a better look at the person. "Tessa?" I asked. She turned around and looked at me in surprise.

Her slender figure was draped in a pink nightgown that was covered by a large, white robe and her feet were bare. The silver moonlight bathed her entire body, outlining her in a glow. "Will!" she gasped, "I didn't expect to see you here." "Then I bet you're really glad that you did. Aren't you?" I asked, attempting to be cocky. The only indication I got that my comment annoyed her was the slight downward curvature of her mouth. "How is Cecily?" Just like that, all my cockiness dried up. "She's fine." "I'm glad. I saw Jem, Henry and Gabriel throw him out the house." "Really! Is he dead!" I asked, not attempting to hide my glee. "No, he's not. But he was shouting something at them. I couldn't make out any words, though." "I'm sure we'll hear about it tomorrow." For a while, neither of us said anything.

"Will?" Tessa asked, breaking the silence. "How are you taking things… with Cecily?" "When I walked in, the first thing I wanted to do was kill him. I tried to, but Jem and Henry got to me first. When I was walking back to the room with you, I almost ran away to stab him a number of times, but I guess my worry for my sister prevented me from doing that." I stopped suddenly, throat tight. "I-I've never seen her cry before. Seeing her there, it sort of broke me, you know?" I asked, voice breaking on the last word and I looked up at her, with a forced smile in place. My mouth trembled, and I realised that she was now right next to me. She placed a hand on my shoulder, and began, "Will-", but she stopped and pulled me into a hug instead. I hugged her back tightly, and she whispered, "I forgive you… for what you said," and walked back to her room.

Making my way back to Cecily's room, I opened the door and saw that she was still sleeping comfortably. I smiled and lay next to her, then pulled the sheets over the both of us. I held her protectively to me and drifted to sleep, my dreams filled with happy images of myself and Tessa.

**Did I satisfy everyone's needs for Tessa and Will? Was this chapter okay? So review and lemme know and next chapter will be on Saturday!**


	12. Chapter 12: The mortal and The Portal

**Well, as I am writing this my Internet is down and I am so pissed :( So here's the next chapter.**

**DISCLAIMER: I am still not Cassandra Clare so I still do not own the Infernal Devices.**

**Chapter 12:**

**The Mortal and The Portal:**

**Cecily POV:**

I kept my head down and tried to concentrate on my food, instead of the worried and pitying stares everyone else was giving me. I wanted to stay in bed all day, but I thought that would make people worry about me, so I decided not to. Now, I really wished I had stayed in bed. At lease I could've locked the door. In my head, I kept chanting my new mantra over and over: _Put food in your mouth. Chew and swallow. Avoid stares. Put food in your- _"Cecily?" I felt like throwing my plate at the person who interrupted my chanting, but when I recognised the voice as being Henry's, I instantly felt guilty. By now, the entire table had stopped what they were doing, and were looking at us. "How are you feeling?" he asked innocently. I forced myself to smile and I said, "I'm fine," making it clear that I no longer wanted to continue this conversation.

Will, who was sitting beside me, shot me a disbelieving look and I said, "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" "No reason." My hand twitched towards my knife. "Is there a particular reason your hand just twitched towards the knife?" I was surprised when I realised that it was Tessa who asked me that. "Yes, is there?" asked Will, attempting to mock Tessa's American accent and failing badly. "Do that again and I'll stab you with a fork," I said. "I'd like to see that," Gabriel said. He shot me a smile and my face heated. "Everyone's a critic," Will said, still using an American accent. He spared a potato wedge with his fork and shoved it in his mouth. I pulled that same fork out of his mouth and pricked him with it.

"Oi!" he yelled in surprise, jumping up. "Will, sit down," Charlotte said. "But she pricked me in the thigh!" "Yes, and you have sustained worse injuries than that. Now sit." Will sat, mumbling something about hormonal pregnant women. I stared at my brother, briefly wondering if I should tell him about our parents. He would want to know, and they would want him to know as well. I suddenly felt choked up and I dropped his fork on his plate and pushed mine away, asking to be excused, then left the table. I walked into the library, and sat down on the red chair where Gabriel and I had begun to read Romeo and Juliet together. I was surprised when I saw the book still there, and I picked it up and leafed through the pages.

"Cecily?" I nearly dropped the book when I heard Gabriel say my name. He sat next to me and said, "You left quite early." "Yes, well…" I said, leaving the sentence hanging. He looked at me seriously, and asked, "Cecily, are you okay?" That did it. It stood up and yelled, "Why does everyone keep asking me that!? I am fine! F-I-N-E! Fine!" I turned away from him and my lip trembled. "No you're not. You're not fine," he said, he was so close to me that I felt his breath on my neck. I moved away from him and sat on the couch, and he sat next to me. "Cecily?" I took up the book and looked down at it, suddenly interested in the cover. "Cecily, look at me for a second." When I refused, he put his fingers gently under my chin, and I blushed remembering our kiss, but he wasn't looking at my face. He was looking at my neck, that was covered in shallow cuts and bite marks from Bryan's assault.

His long, slender fingers passed gently over the marks, and he said, "I should put and _iratze_ on that." He took his steele out of his pocket and gently, but quickly, made the rune. "See, it's already healing." His fingers lingered on my neck and I moaned and closed my eyes when he ran them across my neck. I leaned into his touch and his fingers slipped lower and lower. Down the back of my neck, my throat, then he said, "Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?" I shook my head but kept my eyes closed. His fingers neared the neckline of my dress, and I shivered. "Well let me be the first. You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my entire life." I opened my eyes and saw that his face was right in front of mine. He licked his lips and leaned in to kiss me, and it was as though some unknown force was pulling me towards him, because I leaned towards him willingly.

Just as our lips were about to touch, I heard Will yell, "Cecily? Where are you?" Gabriel and I flew apart. "Cecily? Oh! There you are, I was getting worried." He took in my blush and Gabriel's flustered look and asked, "Is everything okay?" I nodded and asked him what he wanted. He narrowed his eyes at Gabriel and stared for a long time, until finally, he said, " Henry and Charlotte want you downstairs. They said they have some news to share with us." I got up and followed my brother out of the room. When we got downstairs, everyone was still sitting at the table. We joined them and Charlotte began, "Yesterday, when Henry threw his brother out, he mentioned something about someone, whom he referred to as 'he', promising to grant him eternal life. We believe that he was speaking about Mortmain. Also," she looked at Tessa with pity, and began hesitantly, "Tessa, he also said that your brother is waiting for you… which leads us to believe that he is alive."

I heard Tessa's sharp intake of breath, and she said, "B-but, I _saw_ him die. Charlotte, you were all there. He died in my arms." Charlotte was about to answer, when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Will said, and got up to answer the door. About two seconds later, he shouted, "CHARLOTTE! HENRY!" He ran into the dining room before anyone could react and exclaimed, "You guys are never going to guess what I found outside the door!" "What?" I asked. "Come here," he said, pulling me by the arm. The rest of the table followed us, and when we got to the door, we stopped short in our tracks. There, on the front steps of the Institute, sat a red-headed girl who had to be about two years old. Beside her, a brown haired mundane woman lay face down on the steps, her white dress soaked with blood. She looked up at us, her violet eyes pleading as she raised her hand and whispered, "Please, please take care of her. She's one of you." Her hand dropped and her head lolled back, dead eyes staring at us. Even in death she was incredibly beautiful.

The little girl touched her dead mother's outstretched hand and whispered, "Mommy?" She then looked up at us with sad, violet eyes. Behind her, something that resembled a green spider web spread all over her mother's body, before her body turned red and disintegrated before our eyes. The little girl looked behind her again, expecting to see her mother, but when she saw nothing, she looked at us, scrunching up her cute little face in confusion. Then, she smiled widely and giggled. She got up slowly and we watched as she stumbled all the way over to Henry. She wrapped her little arms around his leg and looked up at him, and said, "Daddy!" All our jaws dropped, and, unsurprisingly, it was Will who broke the silence, by saying, "Henry… Is there something you forgot to tell Charlotte?"

The little girl reached her arms up to him and clenched and unclenched her fists. Picking her up, Henry said, "Oh dear. I knew this would come back to bite me." "Henry… What are you saying?" Charlotte asked. "I was meaning to tell you, but I forgot," he said. "You forgot to tell me that you had a daughter!" Charlotte squeaked, trying not to yell. "What! No! Of course not. She's my niece," Henry said, eyes wide. "Did that woman's body just disintegrate?" asked Gabriel, who had apparently just found his voice. "Yes," Will clarified, "And Henry has a niece and that woman was her mother, and since Henry has no sisters, I'm assuming the father is Bryan. Anything else you need to know?" "Actually, there is," Gabriel began. He turned to Jem and jerked a thumb in Will's direction, and asked, "How do you get him to shut up?"

Jem was about to answer, but the little girl gave a short cry and snuggled closer to Henry. "What wrong with her?" Henry asked. "She's probably cold. Who knows how long she's been sitting out there," I said. Charlotte shut the door and herded everyone into the library. We sat down, Henry with the girl in his lap, and everyone else around the room. "When Bryan was sixteen," Henry began, "He became a little rebellious. He ran off and we neither saw nor heard off him for two years. When he returned, a couple of days ago, he brought with him Isabella, the girl woman you just saw, and Lillian, or Lilly," he said, pointing to the little girl who was now playing with his fingers. "He and Isabella weren't wed, and he had no plans to do so, so our parents sent him here, hoping he would get some sense. But, as we can clearly see, that didn't work." Everyone was silent, and Will was about to ask him something, when a blinding light made us all turn our heads to the wall behind us.

The source of the light was a tiny blue circle that swirled and got bigger and bigger until it took up nearly the entire wall. Rays of green light shot out from it, a person stepped out, and it disappeared suddenly with a loud, crackling noise. The person was kneeling, and soon rose from the floor. She was tall, with long, flowing blonde hair. She wore the most peculiar clothes; something that resembled trousers, but seemed to be made out of leather. The blouse she was wearing was also made out of the same black leather, but it stopped short, exposing her stomach and was tight around her chest. Her black shoes had a lot of straps going up them, and had a very high, thin heel. Her eyes were the strangest, though. The black pupil was ringed with bronze, silver, then gold. She held a tall white staff in her hand, the edge glinting dangerously. She stepped forward and said, "My name, is Katherine Matthews. I have come to ask a favour of you. And I'm from the year 2012."

**SOOOOOO sorry for the late update, but I had family over and I was helping with chores…. Anyway… how was it? Okay, I want at least 5 reviews for this chap. Keep me on alert for my next update!**


	13. Chapter 13: Secrets and Tales

**Okay, some of you guys were asking why I brought in the girl from the future and the little girl… Well, every character in my story will have a purpose; you just have to keep reading to find out what they are. Thanks for the reviews, btw!**

**DISCLAIMER: Still not Cassandra Clare. Still don't own the infernal Devices.**

**Chapter 13:**

**Secrets and Tales:**

**Jem POV:**

Did she just say she was from the year 2012? "Excuse me, miss," I began, "Did I hear you correctly? Did you just say that you were from the year 2012?" "You heard me. I'm from 2012, I'm currently in the year 1878, and I'm in the London Institute, which is run by a Mr. Henry Branwell and a Mrs. Charlotte Branwell," she answered, sounding bored, and leaned against the wall, leanig her staff next to her. "If I may ask, how did you get here?" Charlotte asked. "I was sent by a warlock. Through a portal," she said, then took out a seraph blade and began playing with it absently. "I don't mean to be rude, but, what exactly are you doing here?" Henry asked. She plopped down on a couch and said, "I've come to ask for your help. I'm sure you're familiar with a man named Axel Mortmain?"

"What business do you have with him? Are you working with him?" Will asked sharply. She rolled her eyes and leaned against the couch. "Dude. Chill," she said. We stared at her uncomprehendingly at her use of future language. "Chill? You want me to… chill? What does that even mean?" Will asked her. "As I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted by this moron," Will made a sound of disdain, "I need your help, and you are the only ones who can help me, otherwise I wouldn't have come here." "But why us?" Gideon asked. "Because it all starts with you. What date is it?" "The 25th of August," I answered her. She looked panicked, then relaxed slightly, then continued saying, "In the future, in my time, Axel Mortmain rules. He has enslaved the entire human race, and most of the Downworlders and Nephilim. Some of the Downworlders and Nephilim, however, have put aside their differences and formed a circle. Together, we try to defeat him, but he is too strong and is always protected by her."

"But how was he able to remain alive all for all those years?" I asked. "Maybe I should start from the top. Okay, in 1878, err… Now, he's currently creating something,-" "Clockwork creatures. Automatons," Henry inputted. "Yes, but, not only that. He's enlisted the help of a warlock. He asked him to make him invincible, so he'll live forever. The warlock performed the ritual, but it had to be completed by obtaining the blood of the person who is going to consume it, the blood of six Shadowhunters, and the blood of a mundane with the sight. You see… Those six Shadowhunters and that mundane were you. The Shadowhunters James Carstairs, William Herondale, Henry Branwell, Charlotte Branwell, Gabriel Lightwood, Gideon Lightwood and the mundane, Sophie Collins. On the 30th August, 1878, Mortmain, along with two people named Nathaniel Gray and Bryan Branwell, stormed the London Institute along with an army of clockwork creatures. Everyone was killed, and you, Tessa," she stopped and looked at Tessa with sympathy; "You were taken and forced to be his wife."

A collective gasp went up around the room, and Charlotte asked, "Earlier, you said, that you couldn't defeat him because he's too strong and always protected by 'her'. To whom do you refer?" "That little girl," she said, and pointed at the sleeping child on Henry's lap, "Lillian Branwell." "But why?" I asked. She turned to Henry, asking, "She's your niece, isn't she? Your brother's daughter?" Henry nodded. "After you all were killed," we all flinched at that, "Your blood was drained from your bodies, and put into a potion. A potion of immortality and invincibility. The warlock said it would have been easier for him to do it that way, because the spell would have probably killed him." "Do you know this warlock's name? Is he still alive?" I heard Will ask. "Shh. I'm getting to that part. Bryan, however, wanted to be immortal as well, so he tried to steal the potion, but he was afraid that Mortmain would have killed him, so he gave it to his daughter."

"Mortmain walked in and caught him giving it to her, and grabbed it from him, but the cup was nearly empty, and Mortmain downed the last few drops, but his main source of power comes from the little girl, because her blood was in it, as well as his, but she got the most of it. That's why he kept her alive. It was discovered, however, that Bryan had been feeding his wife angel blood while she was pregnant without her knowing, and it caused her to burn from the inside out, eventually she disintegrated, but only after she left her daughter on the steps of the London Institute." "They were never married, Bryan and Isabella," Henry said. "Yes they were." "How do know?" "Because, Isabella Matthews was my sister." "Your _sister?_" "Yes, actually, she was my step- sister. The only reason I managed to live so long was because Mortmain found me. He wanted me to die slow death for being related to anyone who had relations with Bryan, so he forced me to consume angel blood. But because I'm Nephilim, and not mundane like my sister, all the angel blood did to me was give me immortality."

"But, how did you get here?" Gabriel asked her. "After I became immortal, Mortmain kept me with him, and in the year 2006, after years of trying to escape him, I eventually did, and I was taken in by a warlock named Magnus Bane." "Magnus? How is he in the future?" Will asked. "Covered in glitter, but that's not important." Did she say glitter? "Anyway. Remember I told you that there was a circle of us who were trying to defeat Mortmain? Right. We thought that by taking away his source of power, the little girl, we could destroy him once and for all. That was easier said than done. He lives in the London Institute, and we sent out a rescue team from our circle to get the girl, which included me and Magnus. We got the girl and were escaping when the rest of my team were captured. Magnus and I broke into the cells to try to save them, but we were captured as well. We were going to be executed live in two weeks."

"Magnus decided to open a portal and send me back here, because the only way to prevent what happens in the future, is to kill Mortmain as he is now, before he gets the potion. And we only have five days." "So we have to kill him? That's easy." Will said. "My brother, is still alive?" Tessa asked quietly. The girl smiled at her sympathetically, "Not for long. He'll most likely be dead soon." "Wait a minute," Cecily spoke up, "You said that everyone here was killed, and Tessa and the girl were taken. But when you were calling the names of the Shadowhunters, you didn't call mine. What happened to me?" "Cecily, is it? I'm afraid you were taken and forced to be Bryan's wife." I saw Gabriel's fists clench, and his jaw tightened.

"His what? I would never marry him!" Cecily yelled. "You'll find he can be very sadistically persuasive when he wants to." "Wait. We don't even know where Mortmain is," I said. "I do. Are any of you familiar with a Benedict Lightwood?" she said. "He's our father," Gideon said, pointing to himself, Gabriel and Tatiana. "Yeah, well, he's not very good at being one, now is he?" she asked. "He practically gave you away to Mortmain, told him all about the Nephilim, helped him plan his attack, and even slit the throats of his own children." "Is he also alive in the future?" Gabriel asked. "Nah. He died. Demon pox killed him. Actually, as soon as he killed his last child, he dropped dead. Friggin' backstabber."

I looked at her, shocked at her foul language, but of course, it was Will who spoke up, saying, "Cursing? That is not very ladylike, Miss Katherine," with a mischievous grin. "The word 'ladylike' is not in my vocabulary. And it's Kat, not Katherine. Call me Katherine and I'll drive a seraph blade up your as-" "So is that our only option?" I butted in quickly, before they could start a fight. She looked at me, confused, and I said_, _"Killing Mortmain, I mean. That appears to be our only option, right?" "Well… not exactly. It's not your _only_ option. It's more like your _best _option." "What is our other option?" Sophie asked, and I was quite surprised to discover that she was there, since she had been quiet this entire time. "Let's just hope it doesn't come to that, because our other option," she stopped, and pointed at the little girl on Henry's lap, "is to kill that little girl," she finished.

Everyone was silent, until Charlotte finally spoke up, "Well… That's quite a bit to take in." "Yep," said the girl, who was now lying on the couch, flipping a seraph blade in her hand, the other behind her head. "So, which room am I staying in?" she asked bluntly. "Oh, yes," Charlotte began, then searched the room before her eyes landed on me. "Jem, would you please show her to a room. I would ask Will, but…" she trailed off. "But what?" Will asked, clearly offended. Charlotte sighed, before saying, "I have a headache. We'll discuss this tomorrow. Come on, Henry." Henry carefully lifted the sleeping child and followed Charlotte out of the room. One by one, people began to leave, and I saw Gabriel follow Cecily discreetly. Will turned to the girl and grinned, then said, "Are you sure you don't want me to show you to your room? I can show you to the bed as well."

The girl glared at him but didn't answer. "Will, I can do it," I said. He nodded and left, and soon it was just me and the girl. "Lead the way," she said, getting off the couch. I led her up the stairs, to a room near everyone else's. "In here, miss," I said. She scrunched up her face, and said, "Don't call me miss. It makes me feel old. I'm only sixteen." "What would you like me to call you then?" I asked. A sudden breeze blew through and open window, and her blonde hair was blown back. She smiled and her multi-coloured eyes danced, and I was struck by her sudden beauty, as she said, "Call me Kat," and closed the door.

**Gabriel POV: (You guys really didn't think I'd go an entire chapter **_**without **_**a little Gabriel n Cecily, now did you? :P)**

To be honest, after that girl said that Bryan had forced Cecily to marry him, I hardly listened. Instead I busied myself thinking of creative ways to torture and kill him. So far, I was clear that we had to kill Mortmain. Afterwards, I followed Cecily outside. On her way to her room, she took a detour into the library, then came back out. I then followed her all the way to her room. I felt like a creepy stalker so I decided to make my presence known. "Cecily?" "Ahh!" She screamed and spun around, a copy of _Romeo and Juliet_ raised in her hand. I looked at her, asking, "Were you seriously about to attack me with a book?" "I didn't know it was you!" She then hit me with the book. "Ow! What was that for?" "For sneaking up on me." "I wasn't sneaking up on you, I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

She opened her door, and I followed her inside. She aimed at her bed, and threw the book onto it, then closed the door. "Cecily?" She turned to me, and when she did, I saw that she was worried. She wrung her hands as she spoke, "It's just… That girl said that Bryan was going to force me to marry him. I don't want to marry him! I don't want to!" She began hyperventilating, and she was most likely having a panic attack. I held her hands and sat her down on her bed. I held her hand and rubbed her back until she calmed down. "Cecily, listen to me. I won't let him get near you, okay? I will _never _let him, or anyone else, hurt you. I promise." She surprised me when she wrapped her arms around my neck and whimpered into my shirt. After a while, she looked up at me, and said, "You made a promise. Now you have to keep it, because I hate people who break their promises."

I smiled at her, and she smiled back. "Did we ever finish that book?" I asked. "No, I believe we did not," she said, catching my drift. She took the book and handed it to me, and I leaned against her headboard, and began to read. After a while, she curled up against me, and I realised that she had fallen asleep. I lay her head gently against her pillow, and as I got up from her bed, she grabbed onto my hand, mumbling, "Stay." For all I know, she could have thought I was her brother, but I chucked off my coat, and my button up shirt, throwing them in the corner of her room, and lay next to her, and quickly fell asleep, but not before placing a kiss on her forehead and whispering, "I love you."

**Awwwww! So, as you may know, school begins next week. I'll be updating a little less frequently, about once every two weeks, but I'll try really hard to update once a week. And it'll be easier for me to write since my beta will be helping me again. Rest assured I will finish this story this year. I already promised myself. So keep me on alert and keep checking for my updates. I want 5 reviews and more before next chap! Bye!**


	14. Chapter 14: Truths and Lies

**Okay, so thanks for all the reviews I got for the last chapter! Seriously, you guys are the best!**

**DISCLAIMER: *sniffle* What? Oh, sorry. I was just sad about the fact that I don't own the Infernal Devices.**

**Chapter 14:**

**Truths and Lies:**

**Gabriel POV:**

"Mom! Dad! No!" I woke up, startled, and turned to the source of the anguished yells. Cecily was tossing and turning in her bed, her forehead shining with sweat. She started thrashing around in the bed, and I held her down, and shook her while saying her name, to wake her up. Eventually, she jumped up, and her cries became whimpers. I held her against me until she quieted down. When she did, I pulled back and took in her unfocused stare. "Are you okay, Cecily?" "No," she answered, after a long moment. "What happened?" "My parents." "Are they okay?" "No.. They're-" "Cece?" came William's voice from the other side of the door. "Open your door. I heard yelling," he said, knocking on the door.

I suddenly remembered that I was in Cecily's bedroom, and she shot me a panicked look. I quickly retrieved my coat from the corner of my room, then stopped. "Where's my shirt?" I whispered to her. "Find it later!" she whisper-yelled. "Cecily? Are you okay?" _Damn it, William! Just leave! _"Get out!" she said. I went over to her window and pushed it open while she was gazing worriedly at the door. "Cecily. Open this door _now_," William demanded, sounding peeved. I abandoned the idea of jumping out of her window, mostly because Henry and Charlotte were standing right in the courtyard, and if they saw me coming out of Cecily's window, I would be in a lot of trouble. Instead, I hid in her closet, _just _as Cecily looked around, and marched up to the door and flung it open when she didn't see me. From the inside of her closet, I could see through the crack between the two doors. William stood in front of her door, steele paused in mid-air.

Seeing her, William relaxed slightly and stepped inside. "What's going on? I heard yelling. Why did you take so long to open the door?" he asked as he looked around the room. She didn't answer, she just stood there, looking for me. I really wanted him to leave so I could get out of here, because I had to crouch inside of the closet and it was not comfortable. William sat on the bed, and leaned back on his arms. "So, why are you not answering my questions?" he asked, and I realised that he wasn't going anywhere for a while. _Damn him!_

**Cecily POV:**

"So, why are you not answering my questions?" Will asked. "And why are you still in the same clothes form last night?" I blushed and hid my face behind my hair. "I'm sorry. I just had a nightmare." _Where did Gabriel go?! _He looked at me, then asked, "Before I ask you what it was about, do you know where Gabriel is?" _Oh how I wish I did! _"I really don't know," I answered truthfully, blinking then looking around. _Gabriel, where the hell are you?! _Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of green, and my head snapped towards it. Gabriel was hiding in my closet. I saw his green eyes peeking out of the crack between the two doors and my face heated. "…ily? Cecily? Did you hear me?" I heard my brother ask. _I wonder what he would think if he knew that Gabriel was hiding in my closet? _

"I'm sorry. What did you say?" I asked. "I asked you what your nightmare was about." My heart dropped into my stomach. "It was about mom and dad." He grew tense but didn't indicate for me to stop. "The dream started off… weird. Me, you, mom, dad and Ella, were having dinner and we were all happy. We were laughing and talking. Then the room grew dark, and Ella disappeared, then you did. I jumped up and I accidentally knocked down one of the candles. The table set on fire, then the house, then…The house burnt down, with mom and dad in it." By the end of my tale, he was holding me. "It's alright. It was just a dream. They're fine," he said. "No, they're not…" I said. "You just feel like that because of the dream you just had," he reasoned. "Will, you don't understand! They're _not _okay!" I exclaimed, pulling away from him. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

I got off the bed and turned my back to him, wringing my hands apprehensively. _Cecily! You have to tell him! Now! _"Cecily?" Will asked, voice growing worried. "I never told you why I left home, did I? I really should have told you this sooner, and I'm sorry, but I never got the chance and-" "Cecily! Why are you rambling? Just tell me." I took a deep breath. _It was now, or never. _"One night, when mom, dad and I were home, I left a candle burning in the parlour. I forgot to put it out, even though mother warned me thousands of times never to forget something like that. Later that night, the smell of smoke woke me up. I realised that the house was on fire. I-I ran to mom and dad's room, and I tried to save them, believe me I-I really did, Will… and Ragnor Fell, I'm sure you know who that is, tried to save them as well."

Will was silent, and I continued. "He came out of their room, that was engulfed with flames since their room is the closest to the fire. He told me they were dead, and he tried his best. He told me where you were staying, and he told me to go there. Then he died from smoke inhalation. Mom and dad… were burned alive. They didn't wake up on time. The smoke knocked them out." I finished my story, and when I looked at my closet, I saw a pair of shocked green eyes staring at me. I turned to Will, who was staring at the floor blankly. Slowly, he got up, and walked towards me. "When did this happen," he asked, no emotion in his voice, or on his face, but his blazing blue eyes said everything. "The night before I got here." He placed his hands on my shoulders, and I thought he was going to embrace me, but instead he shook me. Hard. "You've been here for so long and you didn't tell me this!? Why!?"

"Will! You're hurting me!" I said, shocked. He shook me even harder, and I saw Gabriel's eyes harden. "How long did you think you could keep this from me!? Did you think I would never find out!?" "Will… I- I'm sorry. I didn't want to upset you!" I sobbed. "You didn't want to _upset_ me? When were you planning to tell me? You had me thinking they were okay! That they were safe!" Gabriel's eyes were shining with anger. _Gabriel, stay in the closet. Just stay. Oh, Angel! Please make him stay in the closet! _Of course, Gabriel jumped out of the closet. He put an arm on Will's shoulder, who was looking at him in confusion. "Let go of her," Gabriel said, voice hard, "You're hurting her." He spun Will around to face him.

"_Lightwood!_ What are _you _doing here?! Why were you hiding in my sister's closet!?" He looked at me. "What the _hell_ is going on here!?" I looked to Gabriel, and gave him a look that clearly meant _'You're on your own'_. He looked at my brother and managed to say, "I heard screaming so I came to see what was wrong. When I heard you outside the door, I didn't want you to walk in and find me, because you would have immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion. So, I hid in her closet," with a completely straight face. I face-palmed myself after hearing Gabriel's lame excuse. Will was staring at him with narrowed eyes, and I saw Gabriel's shirt in the corner of my room. _Oh, Angel! If he saw it…_ "I heard you were looking for me," Gabriel said. "Oh yes. Your sister is leaving," Will said stiffly, before walking out of the room.

I hit Gabriel hard after Will left, causing him to yell out. "Oww!" he said, looking mystified. "That," I began, "Is for jumping out of the closet. We couldn have gotten caught! Imagine if Will had found out that we're…" I trailed off, realising what I was about to say. "That we're what?" Gabriel asked softly, "You didn't finish." He stepped closer to me. "I was meaning to ask you… about that kiss," I began. "What about it?" he asked, taking my hand. He brought it up between us, and placed his other hand over it. "I-I well…. Why did you kiss me?" I stammered. "Because I lo- like you, Cecily." I was taken aback for a moment. Of course, lately, I've been experiencing feelings for Gabriel, and I _was _hoping that he felt them too, but I wasn't expecting him to be so blunt about it. I was about to say something when my doors burst open, and I turned to see Tessa.

"Gabriel! Your sister is…. Oh!" She stopped suddenly, taking in our entwined hands. She was smirking slightly as she asked, "Am I interrupting something?" I let go of Gabriel's hand quickly, and he looked a little hurt but quickly masked it. "No-no you're not-" She cut me off, "Never mind. I'm sorry for intruding. But, Gabriel, your sister really wants to see you before she leaves. Then you two can go back to… Whatever it is you were doing." My eyes widened, "Tessa! We weren't..." I began to say, but she had already left. "Ugh!" I exclaimed, sitting on my bed. "Would it kill you, to lock your door?" Gabriel asked. He put his hands up in surrender when he saw my glare, and he said, "Alright. I'm going." He left, giving me a little smile that made my stomach flutter, but in a good way. _He likes me! _**(A/N Am I making Cecily **_**too **_**girly?)**

**Gabriel POV:**

When I got outside, and into the courtyard where Tatiana's husband's carriage was waiting for them to leave, I found her sitting with her arms folded and an angry expression on her face. She was in one of her moods. I stopped in my tracks when I saw Gideon standing next to her, glaring at her, "Oh Angel. What happened?" I asked. "Ask him," Tatiana said stiffly. I turned to him. "She has to leave-" he began, before he was cut off by Tatiana, who said, "No, he _wants_ me to leave. _He _all but dragged me out of the Institute this morning and ordered me to leave! And I have no idea why!" "Why?" I asked him, not in the mood to fight with any of them. He ignored my question, and instead turned to our sister, asking, "Why did you tell him to ask me, if you were just going to cut me off!" "I felt he should know what really happened," she said.

Gideon very rarely got upset, and was usually a calm person, but ever since we were little, Tatiana was the only person who has always been able to say and do things just to irk him. She just _knows _what to say and do to test his patience. And right now his patience was running out. "You are leaving today, end of story," Gideon said. She set her chin defiantly and said, "No. Not until you give me a good reason to." "_Why _are you so difficult? Do you _want_ to die?" Gideon snapped. Tatiana's husband was nowhere in sight. He was probably bringing down their bags. "What do you mean? What kind of a question is that? What are you talking about?" my sister yelled, confusion overcoming her anger. Understanding dawned on me, and I turned to her. "Tatiana?" She looked up at me sadly, and I could see that she really didn't want to leave. "You have to leave." "You want me gone too?" she asked, lip trembling.

Ever since we were little, I was the only one who possessed the ability to make Tatiana listen. Well… me and mother… but… "Do you remember what happened yesterday?" I asked her softly. She nodded and I saw understanding in her eyes. "But she didn't call my name, or Daniel's," she protested. "Yes, but we are not going to take any chances. After this is all over, you can come visit, okay?" She nodded and hugged me. "Couldn't you have just told her that?" I asked my brother, who just shrugged. "Why? We both know she would only listen to you." "And I for one simply cannot comprehend why she would listen to _him_," William said, arriving with Jem, Tessa, Cecily, Charlotte and Henry. Daniel came downstairs just then, with a bag in his hand. "That's the last one," he said, throwing it in the carriage.

Tatiana burst into tears all of a sudden and hugged me and Gideon. "It's okay. We'll see you soon," Gideon said, completely baffled. "I know," she sobbed. "Then why are you crying?" I asked, patting her back. "Sorry, you have to excuse her. The mood swings just started," Daniel spoke up. I heard a squeal form behind me, and Cecily ran up to my sister. "Seriously?" she asked. Tatiana nodded and Cecily hugged her. "Will someone please explain what is going on?" William asked. "You haven't told them yet?" Daniel asked my sister, who shrugged sheepishly. "Tatiana's pregnant!" "You're what! You've only been married for three months!" I said. "I'm only three weeks along, Gabriel," she said, glaring at me.

Everyone congratulated her, and as drops of rain fell on my shoulder, Charlotte announced that it was time for them to leave. She gave me and Gideon and kiss, a final hug to Cecily, and goodbyes to everyone, and left. I stayed until I couldn't see the carriage anymore, while everyone else left. I turned to walk back inside, when a white hand shot out and push me back. I caught myself and realised that my attacker was none other than William. Bored, I sighed. "What do you want?" "I've come to warn you. If you think for one second that I believe that lie you told as to why you were in Cecily's closet, let me tell you that I don't." There was a dangerous edge to his voice, and he continued after pausing for a while, "Stay away from my baby sister, Lightwood. I mean it." And with that he walked away. He had to be an idiot if he thought that I was going to pay heed to him.

**Okay! So, one day left before school starts, so I decided to update. As I said before, I will be finishing this story before the year is up. Also, now that school has resumed, I will be updating much slower, probably once every two weeks, but I will try my best to update as quickly as I can. Reviews help me write faster… so I want a lot! Okay, keep me on alert for my next update! Also, when you review, you can make suggestions as to what you want to see happen, that'll just make my day, and Bri's!**


	15. Chapter 15: Declarations and Acceptance

**The first week of school is officially over! Only 14 more weeks… big whoop. Okay, so here's another chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Infernal Devices**

**Chapter 15:**

**Declarations and Acceptance: **

**Gabriel's POV:**

"I said aim for the _target!_ Not _me!" _I complained, fingering the hole in my jacket that Cecily's knife had left. She managed a slightly sheepish smile before turning away from me. "Sorry," she said. I discarded my jacket in the corner of the room. Ever since I'd admitted that I liked her, she had been sort of distant. She also stammered and blushed a lot more. "If you missed the target while facing it, I doubt you'll be able to do any better by facing a_way _from it. Turn around," I teased. She turned. When she did, I heard her sharp intake of breath and caught her looking at me chest. "Try again," I said, handing her a knife. I folded his arms, and she looked at my biceps, then closed her eyes quickly.

"Are you alright?" I asked her, "Do you want to stop training now?" "No, I'm fine." "Then why are your eyes closed?" "No reason. Let's continue." I walked up to her. "Then you should probably open your eyes." She opened them slowly, and jumped back, because I was right in front of her. She stumbled over the flat surface, don't ask how, I really don't know, and I caught her by the arm before she fell. "Really, what is going on with you?" I asked. "Nothing." She said, yanking her hand away from me, and moving away. "Then can you explain, why you just tripped over a flat surface?" I was having way too much fun with this.

She narrowed her eyes, and in a very un-Cecily- like manner, left the room, _without _saying anything. "Cecily! Wait!" I yelled. No-one was in the hall, but I saw the curtains shift. "Oh, Cecily!" I said, in a sing-song voice. This was by far the most playful I had ever been. "I'll find you," I continued in the same tone. I heard a giggle from behind the curtains, and I pulled them back, and I stared down at her, with a huge smile on my face. "I found you!" "Hide- and-seek, Gabriel? Really? That's so immature of you," she said, trying for a serious tone but failing. "Did you know, that I've never played this game before?" I said. "Seriously?" she asked, trying to mask her surprise.

"My father always thought that playing games were a waste of time." She looked at me sympathetically. "Well, in that case. Who am I to stop you now," she said, and a slow smile spread across my face. She ran from him, and I followed, chuckling. I saw her run into a small room, and close the door. I waited outside the door. I heard no noise from inside, andI waited for a while, and finally, the door opened a bit. I stayed quiet as she stepped outside and closed the door. "Found you!" She jumped, and gave a little scream, and I held my stomach, laughing.

After a while, I straightened up. "That's not fair. You didn't find me, I gave myself away mistakenly." "Well-" she elbowed me in the stomach, and took off, a large grin on her face. I caught up to her easily, and wrapped my arms around her waist, lifting her off the ground. "Now, _that w_asn't fair at all, now was it?" I asked. "Put me down!" she laughed. "Never!" I exclaimed. She struggled to get away from me, and she tripped, and fell, pulling me down with her. I fell on top of her. "That was amazing!" I said. My face was flushed from running, and lit up with a brilliant grin. "Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" she said. "You're amazing too! Did you know that?" I asked enthusiastically. She blushed, "Gabriel." I brushed a piece of hair away from her face, "Really! You are! You're the most amazing girl I ever met! I love you!" I stopped, just realising what I said.

She stared at me, shocked. _Did I really just say that? _"Cecily?" I asked. "Get off of me," she ordered sharply. I stood up, smile gone from my face. I extended a hand to help her up, but she ignored it and got up herself. "Cecily… I." She ran. She ran away from me. "Cecily! Wait!"I yelled. She quickened her pace, knowing I was right behind her, and she ran straight into her brother. I hid behind the wall. "Going somewhere?" he asked, voice tight. He was still upset with her for not telling him. "Will, I- I didn't see you there." "Of course you didn't. But if you had, would you have just told me? Or would you have waited a couple weeks to tell me?" she flushed, "That's hardly fair." "Fair? _You _are giving me a lecture about what is _fair_? Well, then. Was it _fair _for you to not tell me about our parents' death? Was it _fair _for you to make me think that they were okay, when they clearly were not?"

"I know that you are upset, but, the only reason I didn't tell you was because I was trying to protect you! I was going to tell you about it when I first arrived, but I learned about your curse, and I thought it would have been better to wait a while before telling you. I just didn't want you to get hurt." "But you ended up doing much worse," he said, and turned and walked away from her. I saw tears pool in her eyes, and I longed to reach out and comfort her, but she ran all the way to her room, and shut the door.

**Will POV:**

"Why are you being so hard on her?" I heard a voice ask. Jem. I turned to face him. "Whatever do you mean?" I asked. "You know _exactly_ what I mean. She is only sixteen. She only did what she did because she thought she was protecting you." Jem's logic silenced me. I had always hated logic. It was just so… logical. "I suppose I should apologise," I said. "Yes, you should. And you will. But, not right now. She's probably upset enough, right now." I nodded. "Hey, Jem!" I heard a voice say. I turned to see that girl, 'Kat'. She was wearing what looked like a pair of trousers, but they were too short. They stopped far above her knees and appeared to be made of a blue, denim material.

She had on a simple black T-shirt, which showed off a bit off her stomach, with a pair of shoes that were also black, but white around the edges. "If women in the future always dress like that, I would _love _to visit there," I said, grinning at her. She stuck her tongue out at me playfully, causing me to smile, then turned to Jem with a wide smile. "Ready?" He nodded. "Ready for what?" I asked. "Wouldn't you like to know?" she said. "Yes, I would. Are you two going somewhere?" "Jem was nice enough to offer to show me around town," she answered. Jem and I shared a look, before looking back at her.

"What?" she asked. We didn't answer. "Aww, come on dude! I wanna be a part of your unspoken communication too!" I could not refrain from asking, "Did you say 'dude'? What is a 'dude'?" "Oh, sorry. I forgot I'm not in my time anymore." "Clearly, you did. As you were about to walk out onto the streets of London in 1878, while wearing that," I said, gesturing to her clothing. She looked down at herself as if suddenly realising what she was wearing, then said, "Crap! I forgot…" she trailed off, looking only slightly embarrassed.

"It's fine. I'll take you to Charlotte, she'll find something for you," Jem said. She nodded and left with him.

**Cecily POV:**

I dried my tears, and got up, no longer feeling sad, but angry. I was angry with my brother for thinking I would purposely hurt him. Angry with Gabriel for saying that he loved me. And angry with myself for loving him back, although I can't explain why. I yelled loudly, and ran up to the wall, punching it. I felt the skin over the knuckles of my right hand split, felt the blood running down them. I punched the wall with my other hand, then I kept doing this over and over. My hands were a bloody mess, but the physical pain distracted me momentarily. "Cecily!" My arms were yanked away from the wall and pinned behind me. "What the hell are you doing?!" Gabriel yelled at me. I struggled against him, but to no avail. Eventually, I quieted down.

He sat me down on my bed, against the headboard and got up and locked my door, before walking over to my closet. He pulled out a first aid kit, and walked over to me. "Let me see your hands," he said, when he sat down. I shook my head. "Cecily. Let me see them." He took them both gently and placed them on his lap. He took some cloth out of the box, and moistened it with an antiseptic liquid. He then carefully began mopping up the blood on my hands. I whined a bit at the pain, and he shushed me gently. When he was finished, he discarded the cloth, and pulled out his stele. He carefully drew some runes over my hands, and they started healing almost instantly. I watched him while he did this. His Marks were visible through the thin material of his white shirt, like black ink on a piece of white parchment.

"Why?" he asked, after he put the kit away. "Why what?" "Why did you run?" he asked. He sat on the bed and I saw how hurt he looked. "I was scared," I admitted. "About what?" he asked, moving closer to me. "Is that why you hurt yourself?" I nodded. "That, and other things." "Like what. Why are you scared? I told you I loved you, but you ran away. Do you have any idea how I felt? Don't you feel anything for me at all?" His voice broke on the last word. "Don't you think, that I don't already have enough on my plate! My brother is so upset with me, to the point that he can't even talk to me properly! And here you are feeling sorry for yourself, and making me feel bad! Don't you think I feel the same way? Don't you know that I love you back?" I stopped, suddenly realising that I _was _in love with Gabriel.

"Really? Do you really love me?" he whispered. He kissed my cheek and leaned his forehead against mine. "Yes, but I'm scared." "Why?" he asked. "I lose everyone I love. Ella, my parents, and I feel like I'm losing Will. I can't lose you too." "I'll _never_ leave you. Didn't I tell you that before?" he said. "Promise?" "I promise," he said, and he kissed me. I wound my hands in his hair, and he lay me on the bed, and hovered over me. He nipped at my neck and I whimpered. "Shh," he whispered. He circled my waist with his hands, and sucked on my bottom lip. He started licking and sucking my neck. "Gabriel…" I moaned. He bit into the soft, slightly exposed flesh atop my right breast, and sucked, most likely leaving a mark, and I moaned out loud.

He untied the bit of lace on the front on my dress, and I said, "Stop." He stopped immediately, and said, "Too far?" "A little. I'm not saying never… just not now…" "I know," he said. Then he smiled, "So you love me?"I blushed. "Yes, I do. I love you, and-" I was cut off by a knock on the door. It was Jem. "Cecily? Are you there? Your brother is looking for you," he said. I grimaced. "Thank you, Jem," I called out to the door, "Can you wait for me in the dining hall? I'll be down in a minute." I said. I waited until he was gone before ushering Gabriel out the door, and telling him to come down after me.

Down in the dining hall, I saw Will sitting with Jem, who got up and left the room as I approached. "What is it, Will?" I asked. "Well, I called you down here because I needed to tell you tha- Hang on, is that a bruise on your chest?"

**You guys, I'm fabulous. Cliffhangers 4everrr. –Bri . Lovely cliffie, Bri- Sel. Okay, so R&R and I'll update soon!**


	16. Chapter 16: Exposes and Delays

**Whew! Well! I got soooo much reviews for the last chapter! You guys are the best! **

**DISCLAIMER: The Infernal Devices is not mine. However, I do own Lilly!**

**Chapter 16:**

**Exposés and Delays:**

"My what? Will, my chest is covered," I said, trying to stall to give myself time to think of an excuse. "I mean your…" he trailed off, searching for a word. "Bosom," he finished, looking uncomfortable. I looked down and saw a red mark on my exposed flesh. _Gabriel! _"Oh um… Gabriel," I began. "Lightwood did this to you! Where is he! I'll –" "No! I mean, yes. I mean… It was an accident. We were training and I got hit with the hilt of a dagger." "Well, he should have been more careful." "Who should have been more careful?" Gabriel asked, coming into the room, and smiling discretely at me.

"You," Will said, glancing at him. "What did I do?" "Look at my sister's chest." He did, and when he saw the red mark, his mouth opened slightly, before he closed it. "How did she get that?" he asked. "Gabriel? Remember when we were in training, and you accidentally hit me with the dagger?" I asked, praying he'd get the hint to play along. He nodded and said, "Oh, yeah. It was an accident. It happens all the time," he said. "Then how come neither Tessa nor Sophie got hurt in training?" Will asked him.

"Look, I'm sorry," Gabriel said to Will. Then he smiled mischievously and looked at me, saying, "I promise to be careful the next time," and winked at me when my brother was not looking. I blushed and looked out the window, where I saw a carriage coming in. "Did anyone go out this morning?" "Not that I know of, why?" Will asked me. I pointed to the window. "There's a carriage coming in." "I don't think anyone left the Institute this morning," Will answered. Turning to Gabriel, he asked, "Could it be your sister?"

"It better not be," Gabriel said, with a slight trace of irritation in his tone. "I told her to stay away from here until it is safe." He walked down the hall, us following, and pushed the doors open with both his hands. He was probably really convinced that it was Tatiana. "Tatiana!" he yelled, as he neared the carriage, "I thought I told you not to come here until it was safe!" He peered in to carriage, and staggered back, as though he had been shot. "Gabriel?" I asked, coming closer to him. "She needs help," he whispered. "Who? Who needs help?" I asked.

"My sister," he snapped at me, "She needs help! Look at her!" He got into the carriage, and I looked inside, trying to ignore how hurt I felt by him snapping at me. Lying on the seat was Tatiana, her head in her husband's lap. "I didn't know where else to go," he said, face frightened. Tatiana's face was pale and her dress was soaked with blood. Three long lines were raked across her face, like bird's talons, but larger. It was bleeding and oozing a black liquid. "Let's get her inside," Will said. Daniel scooped her up and carried her to the infirmary. "I'm going to call Charlotte," Will announced, once Tatiana was lying on a bed. He left the room, leaving me and Gabriel behind with Daniel.

"I don't think you should me pulling her like that," I heard Henry say. "Will! I do not understand what this is about- Goodness!" Charlotte exclaimed, once she caught sight of Tatiana. Gabriel pressed a hand to her neck. "Her pulse is barely there." Turning to Charlotte with wide eyes, Gabriel whispered, "Please do something. Please help my sister." The amount of desperation in his tone surprised me. Charlotte nodded. "Sophie!" she yelled. Sophie appeared in the infirmary after a while, with Jem, Gideon and Tessa trailing behind her. Her eyes widened upon seeing Tatiana. "What happened?" she asked.

"We don't know, but can you please get in touch with a Silent Brother?" Charlotte asked. Sophie nodded and left. Gideon sat near his sister, and Gabriel turned to her husband and asked, "What the hell happened to her!?" "We got back to our house safe, and everything was fine. I just woke up last night and she was gone. I had a feeling that she'd gone to try to track down Mortmain, and I went to his hideout and found her lying outside, with a warlock and some sort of demon over her. I managed to kill the warlock but the demon left, taking Mortmain with him." "How did you two even know where they were? Who told you?" Gideon demanded.

"Shit. I think that's my fault." We turned to see Katherine standing in the door way, looking a bit sheepish. "I sorta told them where he was…" she said, and trailed off at Gideon and Gabriel's incredulous looks. "Well why did you do that?" Gabriel asked. "She asked me. How the hell was I supposed to know that she would actually try to find him?" "How did you know?" Gideon asked Daniel. Daniel was sitting by his wife's side, holding her hand, and looking down at her worriedly. He didn't even look at Gideon as he replied, "She told me. And she kept saying that she stopped him. She stopped the spell."

"Did you try giving her any iratze's?" I asked. "Yes, I tried, but they burned into her skin and just made the wounds worse. I think she has demon poison in her." _Then in that case, I will not be of much help to you. _I turned to see a Silent Brother Standing in the doorway. He removed his hood and I gasped at what I saw. He had smooth pits of flesh for eyes, and a stitch where his mouth should be. When he 'spoke' I heard his voice in my head. _All of you need to leave. I will see to her wounds, but I'm afraid I will not be able to get the demon poison out of her. _We nodded and left the room.

Once we were outside the infirmary, Katherine was the one to break the silence. "Damn, he's freaky," she said. We looked at her. "Okay, I know this is partly my fault. But I know someone who can help." "Who?" Gabriel asked. "A warlock. A very good warlock, who is, in my time, the High Warlock of Brooklyn." "I suppose you're referring to Magnus Bane?" Will asked. "Yup. Do you know where he lives?" "Yes. Come one, Jem. Let's go find him," Will said, and walked down the corridor, without even looking bad to see if Jem was following. Jem sighed, said goodbye to Tessa, and left.

"So what do we do now?" Katherine asked. At our incredulous looks, she said, "Well s_omebody _had to say it." "She's right. There's not much we can do until Magnus arrives." _She will be fine for now, _said the Silent Brother, coming out of the room. Daniel was still in there, still sitting by his wife. _She is awake now, but weak. If you are going to question her, do not push her too far. And it would be best if you do not mention the death of her unborn, unless she asks. I must warn you, that the demon poison is still in her blood. It would be best to get it out of her soon. _"Of course, Brother Enoch" Charlotte said. He left after that, his long robes swishing behind him. "She lost her baby," Gabriel said, like he couldn't believe it. Gideon looked equally stunned.

"Poor girl," Charlotte sighed, and entered the infirmary. We followed her in, and crowded around Tatiana's bed. Gabriel and Gideon looked at her. She smiled sheepishly, and said, "Sorry?", but it sounded more like a question. Daniel exploded. "What were you thinking!? You could have gotten killed!? Do you know how scared I was when I found you?!" he said. "I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. "Sorry? You're-" "I got him," came my brother's voice from behind us. Behind him was, I assumed, Magnus Bane. He looked like a normal human, expect that his pupils were slit like a cat's. That was probably his warlock mark.

"'Sup Maggie?" Katherine said. He turned to her with a smile, "Do I know you? And did you just call me Maggie?" "Yup. And you will know me, you're dating my friend, Alec." "Alec?" Jem questioned. "Yes. Short for Alexander." "And he's a boy?" Will asked, before turning to Magnus and going, "You're dating a _boy?_" "No, shit, Sherlock," Katherine said. "Who is this Sherlock that you are inferring is superior to me?" Will asked. "Hey, can we please focus on the _real _problem?" Gabriel asked, sounding irritated. "Yes, yes. I suppose we should do that," Magnus said, and shoed us out of the room. Daniel wanted to stay, but Magnus smiled at him sympathetically and said, "I don't want you to have to see her like this. Please, it would be better if you leave."

Once we were all outside, I began wondering why Magnus wanted even Tatiana's husband out of the room. Then I heard the first scream. It was followed by more, tortured screams. "What the hell is going on in there!" Gideon yelled, thumping on the door. "She has demon poison in her. I have to get it out!" Magnus yelled back. "I can't listen to this," Katherine said, wincing as Tatiana screamed again. "I've heard enough screaming in my life. Where's my niece?" "She's in my bedroom," Henry answered her. She nodded and went off in search of Lilly. On her way, she passed Gabriel, who was facing away from the infirmary door. The muscles in his arms were rigid as he braced a hand against the wall the hold himself up. His jaw was clenched tight.

After hearing a few more screams, he left. I followed him. I found him in the training room. He was sitting on the floor, and the knuckles on his left hand were white from gripping his knee too tight. His head was bent, half-hidden by his right hand that was over his eyes. He seemed to be trying to control his breathing. I stepped into the room, and sat next to him. "Gabriel?" I asked, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. He looked up, and saw me, eyes blank, except for a spark of love, that was aimed at me. "How is she?" he asked. "Magnus is still working on her." He nodded. "Come here," he said, holding out his arms for me. I moved closer to him, and he pulled me onto his lap, so that I was sitting sideways on him. He hid his face in my hair and breathed in.

He let out the breath, and murmured, "I'm sorry." "For what?" "Snapping at you earlier." "It's fine. I actually forgot about it." "I was just worried about my sister," he explained. "I know." He laughed then, surprising me. "What's so funny?" I asked. "I was just wondering what your brother would think if he found out about us." The way he said 'us' made my heart flutter. "I don't think it would be complimentary." I chuckled. "I'm pretty sure that he would flay us both." I said. He frowned, saying, "But I'm sure you want to tell him at some point." "Of course I do! I just need to find the right time, and is now really the right time?" I said to him. "No, it really isn't." I leaned upwards and I kissed him. I moaned into his mouth, and just when the kiss was starting to go somewhere, I heard a voice say, "Cecily, where are yo- WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!"

**That cliff-hanger. You still love me though. Loljk, nobody likes me. Have fun with this, though. Review! You'll get free internet cookies, that taste like air and LOVE. 3 –Bri**

**Yes, Bri, again with the cliffies! :P Anyway, who do you think walked in on them? Review and tell me! You know you want to. **


	17. Chapter 17: Quarrels & Brewing Romances

**Hey guys. Thank soooo much for all the reviews! So, we all know there's gonna be some major drama in this chapter, so here we go!**

**DISCLAIMER: WE do not own the Infernal Devices!**

**Chapter 17:**

**Quarrels and Brewing Romances:**

**Gabriel POV:**

The first thing that popped into my head when I heard the outburst of whoever walked in on us was, _'It's not what it looks like'. _But, of course, I didn't say that because one, they just walked in on us kissing, with Cecily on my lap, and two, it was _exactly _what it looked like. I heard Cecily shriek as she was pulled off of me, and when I reached out to pull her back, I was punched in the face and kicked in a very… _private _area. "What the hell, Will!? What are you doing?!" Cecily yelled, running to me, but only to be pulled back by her brother. _Of course it was William._

"What am _I_ doing?! You have the nerve to ask me what I'm doing when I just walked in on you kissing… that _thing_," he sneered. "Will!" Cecily interrupted, still trying to get away from him, but he was grasping her hand firmly. "William, you don't understand," I said, trying to remain calm. I kept telling myself that if I attacked him, Cecily could get hurt. He continued on as if none of us had spoken. "What were _you _doing?" he asked his sister. "Kissing that-"

"Stop it!" Cecily cried, cutting him off. "He is not a _thing! _His name is Gabriel, and I…" She trailed off, looking at me. "You what? You were being stupid, that's what you were doing!" William said. "William!" I exclaimed, outraged. He turned his glare on me, "You better stay out of this, _Lightwood!_" "Now back to you," he said turning to Cecily. "I LOVE HIM!" she screamed suddenly. William was so shocked that he dropped her hand, and she ran to me, into my open arms. "You-y-you-you…" William stammered, then trailed off, his hand curling into a fist.

"You WHAT!" Cecily shrank back slightly into me, before straightening up and saying, "Yes, I love him." "And I love her," I said. "Are you out of your MIND?! This isn't love! This is a silly infatuation that you've deluded yourself into thinking is love!" he yelled at her. "It would be smart of you to stop yelling at her," I said, voice deadly calm, as I stepped in front of Cecily. She held on to the back of my jacket. "You! You talk about how bad I am for what I did to your sister! You're even worse! You actually got my sister to think she loves you! And I _know _you don't! YOU JUST DID THIS TO GET BACK AT ME!"

"You little-" I began, advancing on him. _How dare he even think, for one moment, that my love for Cecily is fake! Or that I did this to get back at him! _"If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get, Lightwood. Need I remind you who won the last one at that Christmas Ball." "STOP!" Cecily yelled, pulling on my jacket.

**Jem POV:**

"No, those onion slices are still way too thick," Katherine said, as she pranced about the kitchen. She had offered to help out in the kitchen while Sophie was busy helping out with Tatiana, and making her own wedding preparations. She had somehow convinced me to help her cook, and she had put me to, what she called, "an easy task", which happened to be chopping up onions. "They look fine to me," I said, looking at her as she moved familiarly around the kitchen, as if she'd been here her whole life instead of a few days.

"Try cutting them a bit thinner," she said, turning away from me to get something off a high shelf. "Here, let me," I said, the well-bred gentleman in me kicking in. "It's okay, I got it," she said, stretching for it. I strode past her and took a bottle of spices of the shelf, handing it to her. "Thanks," she said, smiling at me. I smiled back and went back to cutting the onions.

"Ahh!" I exclaimed, when my eyes began to burn. "What's wrong?" Katherine asked, whirling around, knife in hand. She put it down and came over to me. "Jem?" "My eyes are burning. The onions," I explained. "Let me see," she said. "No, I'm fine, really," I said, rubbing at my eyes. "No! Don't do that!" she said, but the burning had already increased. She moistened a cloth with water and said, "Come here." She wiped at my eyes gently, and the burning decreased greatly.

I was suddenly aware of how close she was to me, and I gulped. My eyes flickered to her lips, and back to her large, multi-coloured eyes. I leaned in towards her, and she leaned in as well. As our lips neared, she shut her eyes, and I did as well. "Aunt Kat?" came a tiny, timid voice form the doorway. We sprang apart quickly, to see Lilly standing at the kitchen's entrance, staring at us, violet eyes wide. Before I could say anything, we heard a voice yell, "STOP!". Katherine and I looked at each other, before rushing upstairs to see what was going on.

**Cecily POV:**

"What's so wrong about me loving him!? Or him loving me!? It has nothing to do with you, so stay out of it!" I yelled at Will. He was glaring at me and Gabriel, and finally, he said, "He'll hurt you. I know it. Sooner or later, he will." "I will _never _hurt her," I heard Gabriel say solemnly. "You say that now, but someday, you might." My breath caught, realising that Will could be right. Gabriel _could _hurt me someday. "You can say what you like, William. But I will never hurt her," Gabriel said, placing a hand on my back. "I will never leave her, either. She knows that. So why don't you run along, and try to deal with your feelings for your parabatai's fiancé, and stay out of my and Cecily's business."

As soon as Gabriel said that, I knew Will would react rashly. And he did. He charged at Gabriel, who pushed me out of the way, and blocked the side-kick Will threw at him. I managed to stop them, but not before they both gave each other black eyes. "Gabriel, let's go." He looked at me, eyes set in a stony glare, that was aimed at my brother, but his expression softened when he gazed at me. Clearly, he and my brother still wanted to fight, but I was purposefully standing between them, to avoid that happening.

"Please," I said, voice trembling. "Let's go." He nodded and took my hand, prepared to leave, and placed his hand on the doorknob. "Cecily Herondale! You are making the biggest mistake of you life!" Will shouted. Gabriel stiffened, but opened the door. And Henry, Jem, Gideon, Tessa and Katherine, who were apparently all listening, with their heads presses up on the other side of the door, almost fell over each other, and quickly righted themselves.

Charlotte was standing behind them, hands cradling her large belly. _Wow, she's gotten big. _"I told you," Charlotte began, "Not to eavesdrop. It's rude. Really, Henry, I can understand if the children do it, but you should have known better." He smiled ruefully and hurried after Charlotte. Tessa gave me a small smile and a look that said, _I knew it! And we just heard everything that went on inside that room. _"Really! Is there no privacy? This Institute is huge! Can't you all go explore another part of it?" I said.

They dispersed quickly, like they didn't just hear everything, when clearly, they had. "Cecily!" Will began. "Will, I'm tired. Your my brother, and I love you, but I need some time to talk to Gabriel now. Please." He looked at me, with a hurt expression that made my heart break, and left, glaring at Gabriel, who glared back. "You do know that I love you, right? And that I'm not trying to get back at you brother, right?" Gabriel asked me, and I heard the insecurity in his voice. "Of course I do," I said. "Do you think my brother will accept it?" I asked, after a while.

He thought for a moment, before saying, "I highly doubt it, but he'll just have to live with it. There's just one thing I don't understand, though." "What's that?" "Of all the people in the Institute, it just _had _to be your brother who walked in on us!"

**Hey… remember me? I'm so sorry for not updating in nearly a month, but I had a lot of work to do for school. Anyway, how was it? R&R!**


	18. Chapter 18: Outings and Baby-sitters

**Did any of you guys see the new Clockwork Princess snippets? My emotions are all over the place right now. Also, I just found out that Tatiana married a Blackthorne, and I married her to an Ivashkov (oops!)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Infernal Devices.**

**Chapter 18:**

**Outings and Baby-Sitters:**

**Cecily POV:**

"Do you really have to go? Can't you stay? I'm sure Charlotte, Tessa and Sophie will be fine showing her around by themselves," Gabriel said, as I was standing at the door. After Will and Gabriel had a fight this morning, I think all the women in the house agreed that we needed to get away from all the testosterone.

"Yes, I have to. It's been a while since I've gotten out of here. Besides, people might say you're hogging me." He smiled. "I can't help it if I'm possessive," he said, just as Will came down, talking to Tessa. He made a small noise of disgust.

Gabriel got this mischievous look in his eye upon seeing Will. "What? What are you planning to do?" When Tessa wasn't looking, and Will looked on our direction, Gabriel pulled me toward him and kissed me. When he pulled away, I was feeling light headed, and Will was glaring furiously at Gabriel. "Have a good time," Gabriel said, placing a kiss on my forehead, just as the others came down.

"You will all," Charlotte said, looking at the men, "Help take care of Lily." "But we don't know how to!" protested Henry. "You've been doing very well so far. And all of you must help." They nodded. With a final smile in Gabriel's direction, I left with the others.

**Will POV:**

"Can't you at least try," Tessa wanted to know, "to get along with him? He does love your sister after all. What are you going to do when they get married, have children? I doubt Cecily will want you around them if you keep acting like this." "_Marriage! Children! Who said anything about that!? What are you talking about?! Do you know something I don't?!_" I exclaimed.

"While I do believe I indeed know a lot of things that you do not, I think it's very obvious that Gabriel and Cecily will get married. Have you not seen the way they look at each other?" "Yes, and it is highly annoying." "Funny, some people would say that about you." I tried to glare at her, but it was too hard. It was too hard for me to feel any anger towards the love of my life.

As we neared the door, I saw Cecily standing with that _thing _by the door. "I can't help it if I'm possessive," he was saying to her. I made a small noise of disgust upon hearing this, causing Tessa to sigh and alerting them to my presence. Gabriel got this mischievous look in his eye upon seeing me. "What? What are you planning to do?" my sister asked him.

When I looked at them, Gabriel pulled my sister to him and kissed her. My hands fisted in my pockets, and Tessa put a restraining arm on my shoulder. When he pulled away, I was glaring furiously at him, and my sister looked flustered. "Have a good time," he told her, placing a kiss on her forehead, just as the others came down.

Once the women left, I felt free to lunge at Gabriel, and hopefully gouge his eyes out. I tackled him to the ground, and tried to punch him, but he moved his head, causing me to slam my fist against the ground. "Will!" That was Jem. Gabriel had his hands around my throat, not squeezing, but restraining. I was pulled off of Gabriel, and Gideon said, "What is wrong with the two of you? Why must you behave like children? Do I have to lock you in your rooms and take away you steles?"

"I did nothing. _He w_as the one who attacked _me_," Gabriel said. "Well, he kissed my sister in front of me! Just to spite me!" "As if what you did to my sister was any better! At least Cecily liked it!" "STOP IT!" Gideon yelled, then continued in a calmer tone, "Can you two please, for the love of the Angel, shut up!" "Really, you two fighting is becoming very annoying," Henry said. "Just look what you did. You drove all the women out of the Institute! I don't think any two men have ever been able to do that before! And that's terrible because Lily needs a bath! So you have to help me!"

**Gabriel POV:**

"What?" I asked. "I said," he began. "No, I heard what you said, but what are we supposed to do about it?" I asked him. "You're supposed to help me! I don't know what to do!" he sounded desperate. "And what makes you think we do?" Jem asked. "Please!" Henry said, looking panicked. "Weren't you and Charlotte taking care of her all this time?" my brother wanted to know. "Yes, but Charlotte usually did all that. I just fed her and played with her and stuff like that." "Fine, we'll help." "Thank you," he said, looking relieved.

"Er… Where is she?" Jem asked, looking around. "She was right here! We have to find her!" "Okay, don't panic, she couldn't have gotten far, it's not like she left the Institute," I said. "Umm… the front doors are open. She could have gotten out," Gideon said. "Okay, Jem and Gideon will look outside, I'll look upstairs, and Henry, downstairs. Herondale… Where is he?" "Never mind that, it's not him we're worried about!" Henry said, dashing off to look for the missing child.

I looked upstairs for about an hour, but I found neither Lily, nor Herondale. I considered waking up my sister, then decided against it. I passed Herondale's room, and heard running water. _Could she have…_ I pushed open the doors, and instead of finding a drowned child _(Thank the Angel!) _I found Herondale, sitting in the tub full of water, staring at me wide eyed.

"It is very rude," he began, "to just burst into someone's room." "You're supposed to be helping! We can't find her." He closed his eyes and settled down into the tub, "I doubt she could have gotten that far." "Get out of that tub and help us," I said. "No." "Get out of that tub, before I drag you out." "I'd like to see you try," he said, crossing his arms. I narrowed my eyes at him.

**Jem POV:**

I looked down at the little girl on my lap. Henry had found her, covered in flour in the kitchen. We had proceeded to clean her up, when she abruptly threw up on Henry. "I am never," Henry said, coming into the dining room, "wearing that shirt again." "I wouldn't wear it either if I were you." It wasn't long after that we heard a masculine yell of anger, and Gabriel came down the hall and into the dining room, dragging a soaking wet Will by the ankle. Will was holding a towel over his… privates, and trying to get out of Gabriel's grasp, all the while yelling obscenities at him.

"What," Will began, once Gabriel let him go, "was the need for that!?" "I told you I would drag you if you refused to come along and help." "Will, could you please…" I pointed to his towel, that had fallen onto the floor, while averting my eyes. He grinned. "It's not like there are any women around, what's the harm in this?" he asked. "You're disturbing me," said Henry, "and a child is present." Will flashed a devilish smile and started sauntering around the kitchen… _nude. _**(A/N …Oh please girls, you would have killed to see this… And this was Bri's idea.)**

"Oh, I'm disturbing you, aren't I?" he said. We averted our eyes from his naked form, our faces similar masks of disgust. The front door burst open, and Katherine ran in, saying, "Guys! You need to," then stopped when her eyes landed on Will. "Dude! Put that away!" she yelled. "Oh please, this is probably the best thing you've ever seen in your life," he Will said, but nonetheless, put the towel back around his waist.

"I've seen better," she said, and somehow, it bothered me that she said this, even though I could tell she was lying. "Anyway, I have something to tell you all! While we were out, we sorta got ambushed." "Ambushed!" I asked. "Yes, ambushed, meaning that they were taken by surprise and attacked," Will deadpanned. "But that's not what's important!" Katherine snapped. "Charlotte! She…" "She what?" Henry asked, cutting her off, and looking panicked.

"Would you people stop cutting me off! She got kicked in her stomach and… Henry, if you cut me off, I will personally kick your butt…" "What happened to her?" I asked anxiously. "She's in labour."

**Wow… Has it been that long since my last update? One word: SCHOOL. Anyway, R&R!**


	19. Chapter 19: New Additions and Nightmares

**Am I updating late? I'm not even sure, because I was swamped with school work. Anyway, here's a new chapter.**

**DISCLAIMER: Bri and I do not own the Infernal Devices.**

**Chapter 19:**

**New Additions and Nightmares:**

**Cecily POV:**

"SHE'S WHAT!?" I heard someone yell, Henry, I presume, as we helped Charlotte get into the Institute. "B-but how? She's not due for… H-how could this happen? Do you mean _now?!_" Katherine smacked him across the face. "Man up!," she yelled. "Your wife is in labour! You panicking is not going to help her!" "You hit me," Henry said, holding his cheek and looking dazed. "Isn't that what you do when people are in hysterics?"

"Charlotte!' Henry exclaimed, seeming to snap out of his daze, and rushed to her. He scooped her up and ran to the infirmary with her. I subconsciously moved towards Gabriel, who put his arm around my waist, and pulled me along with him as he followed everyone to where Charlotte was. "CAN SOMEONE PLEASE GET THIS BABY OUT OF ME!? THIS IS NOT FUN!" Charlotte was yelling. "It's okay," Henry said, patting her hand as he lowered her onto the bed. Sophie was rushing around, yelling something about contacting Brother Enoch.

"It's alright," Henry continued, "Little Buford-" "FOR THE LAST TIME! WE ARE NOT NAMING HIM BUFORD!" "You all need to leave," Sophie said. "I can help. I've done this before," Katherine offered. "Okay, you stay. Henry…" Sophie trailed off, seeing his hopeful look. "You need to leave too," she said. "HENRY JOCELYN BRANWELL! YOU HAD BETTER NOT EVEN _THINK _OF LEAVING ME! THIS IS ALL _YOUR_ FAULT!"

"Me? What did I do?" Henry asked, looking baffled as he walked over to her and sat beside her. "IT TAKES TWO TO MAEK A BABY! YOU DID THIS TO ME! YOU ARE NEVER TOUCHING ME AGAIN!" It was very weird to see Charlotte act like this, since she was normally collected and calm.

She seemed to realise after a while that we were still there. She turned to us and yelled, "WHAT ARE ALL OF YOU DOING HERE! I DON'T NEED YOU TO BE WITNESSES TO THE BIRTH OF MY CHILD! LEAVE!" We left. Fast.

After long hours of Charlotte screaming and yelling obscenities at Henry, she was finally quiet. The door opened. Henry came out, holding a tiny squirming baby wrapped in a blue blanket. We all surrounded him to get a closer look. He had Charlotte's dark hair but Henry's light, hazel eyes. "He's so cute!" Tessa said. "Can I hold him?" I asked. "Sure." Henry handed him to me, and winced slightly when my hand bumped his.

"Are you okay?" I asked, cradling the baby in my arms. I felt Gabriel place his arm on my lower back, gazing over my shoulder at the baby. "I'm fine. Charlotte broke my hand." "And if you had listened to me, and let go of her hand like I told you to, it wouldn't be broken, now would it?" Katherine said, throwing him a stele. "He looks just like Henry, doesn't he?" I asked Gabriel. "Yeah, he really does."

There was a strange note in Gabriel's voice that made me turn and look up at him. He was gazing at me so intently that I blushed and looked away. "So, what are you going to call him?" I asked Henry, hoping that no one saw that awkward moment that just happened between me and Gabriel. I could tell from the look in my brother's eyes, though, that he had seen it. _Well, of course he would! He's been watching me like a hawk!_

"Obviously not Buford," Jem said, coming forward. Henry pouted, but said nothing. Will scoffed and took the baby from me saying, "Isn't it obvious? They'll name him William. End of story." "Please don't," Gabriel said, "I'd hate for your son to grow up like him." "What would be so bad about him growing up to be so devilishly handsome that he made women everywhere faint at the sight of him?" Will asked.

"You-" I stomped on Gabriel's foot lightly. Well, I _thought _I stomped lightly. And I _thought _I stomped on Gabriel, that is, until Jem yelled, "Ow! What was that for?" "Sorry, I, uh, thought you were Gabriel." "Anyway… What are you going to name him?" Tessa said, taking the child from Will and handing him to Henry. Henry beamed down at the child, and at that time, Sophie exited the room, saying, "Charlotte wants to see you, Henry." Henry walked inside of the room with his child to meet Charlotte.

"So, I guess we aren't going to find out his name until tomorrow," Jem said. "If you want to go in there and interrupt a woman who just gave birth, with her husband and child, be my guest," Will said, "and what do you mean tomorrow? We can just ask them later." "Actually, it's about midnight. Charlotte is probably tired, and I'm sure the women are, since they were engaged in a battle earlier." As if on cue, I yawned. "Tired?" Gabriel asked, taking my hand and leading me away from them.

"Not really," I mumbled. He escorted me to my room, and would have stayed, but instead, he left, saying he had to talk to someone about something. He was hiding something from me, but I shrugged it off and got ready for bed. That was when I had my first nightmare.

_It was dark. Really dark. I was lying on something cold and hard, and I coughed as I sat up and looked around. I looked like I was in one of those torture chambers that I had frequently come across while reading books. Light flared up and illuminated the room. Witchlight. I was surrounded by four walls, no doors or windows…no exit._

_A loud, scraping noise came from behind me, then footsteps. I didn't turn around. "Cecily." The person said. I froze, chills running up my spine. It was Bryan. A hand clamped down on my shoulder, and turned me around roughly. I was banged up against a wall. My mind was screaming at my body to fight him, but I couldn't move._

"_Miss me?" he asked, pulling out a dagger. The dagger came at me, and I was no longer in my body, but watching from above. I watched as he stabbed me, over and over. My body, now lifeless, fell to the floor, bloody and limp. _

_I watched, still unable to move, or speak, as he blatantly violated my dead body, before walking off laughing, and leaving me there._

I woke up with a gasp, sweat pouring down my forehead. My heart was beating really fast, and I was scared out of my mind. Cold breeze blew across my body from my open window and I shivered. I didn't even think, I just got up and ran out of my room, heading for Gabriel's.

**So sorry that this update was so late, and that this chapter was probably boring, but I got no reviews for the last chap, so that really slowed down my writing process. Hope to get some reviews for this chap! **


	20. Chapter 20: Permission and Proposals

**Thanks to all those who reviewed! Here's another chapter:**

**DISCLAIMER:**

**ME: I do not own the Infernal Devices…**

**BRI: But I do!**

**ME: LIES! You don't!**

**BRI: Fine, I don't. Just wishful thinking.**

**ME: I know what you mean…**

**WARNING: HUGE cliffie at the end of this chapter!**

**Chapter 20:**

**Permission and Proposals:**

**Cecily POV:**

"Gabriel! Open you door!" I yelled, close to tears. I continued banging my fist against his door, until it finally opened. "What-" he began, before my knees buckled. He caught me before I hit the floor, and he carried me to his bed, only stopping to kick his door shut. "Cecily? What's wrong? Come on, baby, talk to me." He sounded panicked.

I had my head against his chest, tears leaking out of my eyes. He held me until I quieted down, then he placed his hand under my chin, and carefully lifted my head. "Now will you tell me?" Eventually, I was able to tell him about my dream. He listened quietly the entire time, not saying a word. When I was done, he said, "That's what you're upset about?"

"I know it's silly," I said. "It's not, actually. After what he tried to do to you… Well, that's not easy to forget. No matter how strong you are," he added. "Now I'm tired." "I don't blame you. You had a long day. Come here." He lay down and I curled up next to him, closing my eyes. He wrapped his arms around me and suddenly said, "Hey! I just realised something." "What?" I mumbled sleepily. "You're wearing my shirt."

I could picture him smiling at this. I hid my face in his chest, flushing. "I hadn't noticed. You left it in my room." "Uh huh." I said nothing after that. He shifted me so that my back was to him, and started placing small kisses down my neck. I moaned gratefully. "Cecily?" "Mmhh?" "I love you." "I know. I love you too." I fell asleep quickly, knowing I was safe in his arms.

**Gabriel POV:**

"Cecily?" No answer. She was asleep. Good. I carefully, removed myself from beneath her. "No, stay," she mumbled in her sleep, grabbing at me. "It's okay, I'll be back," I whispered in her ear. She smiled, mumbling, "M'kay." I kissed her cheek, and exited my room, walking towards the kitchen. Halfway there, someone jumped out, saying, "You wanted to see me?"

"Your attempt at trying to scare me is truly pitiful." He rolled his eyes, and said, "I haven't got all night, _Lightwood_. What did you want to tell me?" "I assume you saw that… moment Cecily and I shared earlier?" Now his eyes narrowed. "I did, and I really hope you were not thinking what I think you were thinking." I stayed silent. "Lightwood…Why are you silent? Answer my question. Were you-" "It depends on what you were thinking, because I highly doubt we were thinking the same thing."

"_Lightwood._" "I want to marry your sister!" I blurted, before I could stop myself. His amused expression slid slowly off his face. Disbelief and anger played across his face. "You WHAT?" "You hear me. I want to, no, I am going to ask your sister to marry me." "What do you want?" he asked, "My approval?" "Oh Angel, no. I, quite frankly, don't care whether I have your approval or not. I'm going to marry your sister anyway. I was raised with good manners, and I was simply trying to prove so by telling you."

"I highly doubt your _father _raised you with good manners. Whoever did, did a terrible job," he spat. "First of all, I have no father. Secondly, I was talking about my mother and I will not tolerate you saying anything like that about her," I said, a dangerous edge to my voice.

"You don't seem to care much for my opinion, but you do care for my sister's. Saying you want to marry her is one thing, but getting her to agree is another." "She will agree. She loves me. And I love her." "We'll see," he said. "Yes, we will." I turned and headed to my room, without another word.

When I got back, Cecily was awake, and was sitting cross-legged on top of my sheets, shivering. "Where were you?" she asked. "I woke up to get some water and ran into your brother on the way back." She glanced at my bedside table. "There's a full jug of water on the table," she said, pointing at the jus and the overturned glass beside it. "I know, I just felt like walking around," I said lamely.

Her eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything, she just yawned. I sat on the bed beside her and pulled her into my arms. "You're shivering," I whispered to her. I pulled the sheets over the both of us. "I missed you today," she said. "I missed you too. Were you scared when you got attacked?" "It was my first battle, so I was at first, then I kind of enjoyed it." "I think I got a worse scare than you today. I saw your brother naked."

"WHAT?! What were you two DOING?!" "Nothing!" I said, shocked that she would come to that conclusion. **(A/N I think we all would… :p Also IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE BELOW!) **"He was just being ridiculous and prancing about nude in the dining room. Everyone got quite a shock today. It was… disturbing." Cecily shuddered in my arms. "Still cold?" "A little." I tilted her head up gently, and captured her lips with mine.

She moaned and took me by surprise when she rolled over so she was on top of me. I held her little body carefully against mine. I placed my hand on the back of her head, deepening the kiss. Her hands were on either side of my head, resting against a pillow. I slowly slid my hands down her body, feeling her curves, until my hands came to her soft, smooth, creamy white legs. It turned us over on our sides and hitched her legs over my waist. She wrapped them around me a pressed herself closer to me, before cutting our kiss by hissing in pain.

"Cecily?" I asked, confused. "I'm fine. I have a nasty bruise on my stomach from earlier, though." "You said you were fine!" "I am! Except for that bruise." "Didn't you put an _iratze _on it?" "I'll do it later," she said, yawning and curling against me. In a few moments she was asleep. I pushed her hair away from her forehead and held her tightly against me, falling asleep.

**Cecily POV:**

I fidgeted under my brother's stare, and finally stared back defiantly at him, until he looked away. _What was that about? _"Cecily?" Gabriel, who was sitting on my right, was trying to get my attention. "Yes?" He frowned. "What's wrong?" "Will keeps staring at me in this strange way, and I don't know why." He shrugged. "Odd."

Soon, everyone else joined us for breakfast, including Charlotte, Henry, and their son, whose name I still didn't know. "Have you decided on a name yet?" I asked them. "Daniel Damien Branwell," Charlotte said, smiling proudly. "It's really cute," I said. Daniel made a noise at that moment, as if agreeing with me.

"Cecily? Can you pass that please?" Gabriel said, pointing to the butter. I looked at him strangely for a second, since his breakfast plate was practically overflowing with butter, but I turned to reach it and gave it to him anyway.

I picked up my glass and brought it to my lips, and tilted it back. As I did so, the cold liquid entered my mouth through my slightly parted lips, and slid down my throat. Something cold bumped against my lips, and I probably would have swallowed it if I hadn't dropped the glass right then.

"Cecily?" Will asked, retrieving my fallen glass, and placing it on the table. He sounded concerned, probably wondering why I just suddenly dropped the glass, but I wasn't listening to him. Instead, I was looking at the object that had bumped against my lips, now cradled in my palm.

A gold engagement ring. **(A/N Who saw this coming? Really, I wanna know if I was that predictable.) **I gasped loudly and dropped the ring, and I thought everyone would be looking at me, but instead, they were looking at Gabriel, who was on the floor, down on one knee.

He picked up the ring, and said, "Cecily Herondale, from the very first time I laid my eyes on you, I fell in love with you, even if I didn't know it at the time. I have often seen people in love- true love- a love that was everlasting. When I asked that how they knew it would last forever, they said "You just know". I never believed that I would know that, never believed I would know what love feels like… Until I met you.

Whenever I'm away from you, it causes me pain, and I get so anxious, waiting until I get to see you beautiful face again, and when I'm with you, I forget all of my problems, and nothing matters but the two of us. I love you, and everything about you: your face, your laugh, your smile. I get so happy when I'm around you, and I know that no matter how bad my day goes, what troubles I have, everything gets better when I'm with you. I know everything will be okay, because I have you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So, will you do me the honour, of becoming my wife?"

***Hides behind… I'm not telling you where I'm hiding :p* Please don't hate me for the cliffie, but, admit it, cliffie's attract people… they draw them in. So, what do you think she'll say? What will everyone's reactions be? The first five people (and maybe some more) to review, will get a sneak peek of the next chapter. Also, I have exams starting next week, so I might update next Monday, or I might update after exams. It all depends on the reviews!**


	21. Chapter 21: Love and Acceptance

**Thanks for all the reviews! Two of my reviewers, who were within the first five to review, did so anonymously, so I was not able to PM you a sneak peek.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Infernal Devices, neither does Bri.**

**Chapter 21:**

**Love and Acceptance:**

**Cecily POV:**

I was aware that everyone's eyes were on me. I stared at Gabriel, in shock.The ring was beautiful, though- very much so. A gold band embedded with diamonds, and a huge, sparkling diamond right in the centre. The fact that he wanted to marry me, despite us not being together for that long, made me giddy with happiness, but also, very hesitant. Now, don't get me wrong- I loved Gabriel a lot, and I knew he loved me too, but marriage…Was I ready? Was he? I wasn't even sure.

He was staring up at me hopefully, smiling, waiting on my answer. The room was dead quiet. Quiet enough that I could have heard a pin drop. So, when Katherine jumped up, and said, "Say yes! Marry him before I do!" I felt spurred on by Katherine's encouragement. "Would you," Will began, "not encourage her! She is too young!"

Katherine turned on him, saying, "Did you hear that speech? See his eyes? Just look at how they're looking at each other. Neither of them has stopped looking at the other since Gabriel asked!" "Cecily?" Gabriel prompted, smile slipping. _Oh Angel! He probably thinks I don't want to! Just look at his face! He looks so crushed! Like he could…Like he could die._

That made up my mind for me. "Yes," I whispered. "Really?" he whispered back. I nodded. He slipped the ring on my finger. "Cecily? Think about this. Are you sure you want to spend the rest of your life with _him_?" "What do you mean?" I asked. "I mean, you're very young. You have your entire life ahead of you. Don't tie yourself down now."

"Excuse me," Tessa interjected, "What were you saying about her being too young? Need I remind you that we are both of the same age? Or that I am engaged as well?" "That's different, and you know it. I trust Jem. I know he'll keep you safe. I, however, don't trust him." He jerked his thumb in Gabriel's direction.

"That's not my problem. _You _don't have to trust me, you don't even have to like me. I told you before: I am marrying your sister, whether you like it, want it, or not. All that matters to me is her opinion," Gabriel said.

Will opened his mouth to say something, then stopped. He turned, hands clenched into fists, and stormed out of the room. Katherine looked after him with wide eyes. "Well. Congratulations, you two," was all she said before flouncing off, to do whatever is it she does. The Angel only knows.

**Will POV:**

I was enraged. How could my own sister go and do this? Didn't she understand that she was throwing her life away? For a Lightwood, of all persons? I paced the library, fuming. At the sound of the door opening I growled. "Go away. I don't want to see anyone. Just get out." I said. "Will." _Tess. _I instantly regretted my words."I know what you're going to say. I should not have said that, and I shouldn't be meddling in my sister's love life."

"Why did you? Why can't you accept the fact that she can make her own decisions?" "Because…Because she's my little sister. My _baby _sister. Of course I'll be upset. All I ever wanted to do was protect her. That's all I'll ever do. I already lost one sister, I can't bear to lose another." She placed her hand gently on my shoulder.

"Will… You are _not_ going to lose her. She's still here. She's getting _married_. To the man she loves. Every girl wants to do that. But not all of them get the chance." From the tone of her voice, I knew she was talking about herself. "Why can't you?" I asked her. "Why can't you marry the man you love?" "It's complicated…" "It doesn't have to be." I took her hand. "Tess…"

"I have to go." She walked towards the door, and placed her hand on the doorknob.

**Jem POV:**

"Jem?" I jumped, hitting my head on the bookshelf, causing five books to fall off the shelf. "Oh shit! Sorry. You always get hurt when I'm around, don't you?" Katherine said. She helped me pick up the books, and I placed them back on the shelf. "What are you doing here?" I asked. "It's a library." _Of course she's here to read, you idiot! It's a library._

I blushed. "Relax, I'm just teasing. I was looking for my niece. Have you seen her?" "Henry. She's with Henry." She nodded, saying, "Okay. What are you reading?" she asked. "Nothing in particular, I'm just bored." My hands twisted nervously. She noticed, and grinned. "I like your hands," she said. I became confused. "My hands? What's so nice about my hands?"

"What's not to like? There's just something nice about long, thin, fingers…I wonder what they could do." She winked before leaning up against a wall, next to a large tapestry. " I don't understand…" I trailed off. "Come here." I stood up and walked over to her. She took my right hand in hers, and said, "See these fingers? I bet they could drive a woman wild." My eyes widened and I blushed.

"I..I…" I stuttered. Ohmygosh, does she want me to… _touch _her? Oh, by the Angel, I could never… Will would have _loved_ this, if he was in my position.

I froze. Tessa. I was engaged to Tessa. _I love Tessa. _This conversation was very inappropriate, these are things that I should only be discussing with my betrothed, my love, Tessa. I- I mean, she might not want to…. I mean…argh! "You okay? You look like you're having some sort of internal battle. Relax. I was just joking."

I swallowed. "I am." She suddenly looked concerned. "What? What is it?" I asked. Katherine touched my head, where I had hit it earlier on the shelf. "You're bleeding," She stated quietly. "It's nothing. I'm fine, really." I tried to convince her that my injury was minor. It didn't work. "No, let me put an _iratze…_" At that time we both realised how close we were.

She raised her hand to my head, stele in hand. Her hands shook as she applied the mark. The pain faded instantly. "How is it?" she asked. I could have sworn that her voice shook. I felt like I should have stepped away, but I put my hands on her face instead. She glanced at me questioningly, from under her eyelashes.

"Jem? What are you doing?" "I- I'm not sure," I said, my lips brushing hers.

**Tessa POV:**

I placed my hand on the doorknob. _Call me back, Will, _I pleaded in my head. _Stop me. _"Tess…" I closed my eyes. I released the doorknob and turned to face him. "Yes." "Don't… Don't go… Don't leave me. Stay." I walked over to where he was standing, near the tapestry. He fisted part of it in his hand. He looked up at me, eyes pleading. "Tess." He said.

I nodded. "Will." He backed me into the tapestry. "Will this is a tapestry this isn't very safe," I said. He looked deep into my eyes. His blue eyes were flooded with passion. He put his hands on either side of my body, trapping me. "I'm tired of hiding," he said.

Our lips met. The kiss started off slow and sweet, but it soon became hungry. Filled with passion. "We shouldn't…" I began. "I know…" he said, but he continued kissing me. Our hands roamed each other's bodies. Suddenly, as he pressed me further into the tapestry, we fell through. He landed on top of me, but kept kissing me, until he pulled away from me quickly, and looked up in shock.

Jem. And Katherine. They were kissing. I made a small noise in my throat. Jem's eyes were open. He most likely saw me kissing Will. He pulled away from Katherine, and looked at me. "Tessa," he began. "I can explain."

**Guess who's back ;D SLIM SHADY BITCHES. I lied, it's just Bri v_v HAI GUISE, hope you liked the chapter :D R&R! 3 3 *free internet cookies* **


	22. Chapter 22: Situations and Explosions

**Hi guys :D Here's the next chapter! **

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE BELOW! READ!**

**DISCLAIMER: We don't own The Infernal Devices **

**Chapter 22:**

**Situations and Explosions:**

**Katherine POV:**

I was utterly confused. One moment I was teasing Jem about his hands, the next he was kissing me. Then Will and Tessa decided to fall through the tapestry, kissing, and find me kissing Jem. It was much less complicated in 2012. "Tessa," Jem began, "I can explain." _If I had a nickel for every time I heard a guy say that…_

"There's nothing to explain, Jem," Tessa started. "I fell through the tapestry kissing Will, and found you kissing Katherine. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have agreed to marry you," she glanced at Will, "when I so obviously was in love with Will. I'm really, truly sorry. It's just the way it is." Her eyes began to water.

"Tessa… I… I do love you, but…" Jem looked at me, "I've only known Katherine for a short time, but I feel like I've known her forever. I think I love her, if any of that makes sense. And since I have these feelings for her, I can't marry you." _He loved me?_ "They say if you fall in love with two people, pick the second person, because if you really loved the first, you would have never fallen for the second," Tessa said, "I do believe that's true."

She took the ring off her finger, tears shining in her eyes. Will looked pained. Will, my best friend, who had stood there and watched me give my ex- fiancé to him. Will, who had finally let the right thing be done. Now the both of us would be happy.

Will turned to me, "I truly am sorry for causing your engagement to break up. But I can't bring myself to apologise for falling in love with Tessa, because I'm not sorry." Jem smiled, and said, "All is forgiven, my _parabatai._"

Will smiled softly, taking Tessa's hand and exiting the room, throwing me one last glance before he went. Jem looked at me. "You've been quiet," he said. "I…" I started. He looked at me. "Look, I know this is very surprising to you. And I know that you probably don't share my feelings. It's okay…just know that I can't marry Tessa, knowing I have feelings for you."

I started. "It's not that I don't like you, Jem. I just…this is very new. But if you can give me some time, I could grow to love you. I could see us together, if you're willing to wait." I looked at him from the corner of my eye. Jem's expression lightened. "Of course I'll wait for you! I'll wait for you for as long as I possibly can! I-" "Just shut up and kiss me!," I said, jumping on him.

**Gabriel POV:**

"It's very beautiful," Cecily said, examining the ring on her finger. We were in a sectioned off corner of the library, sprawled on a couch. "It was my mother's. I found it while I was going through some of my mother's belongings that everyone was forbidden to touch. I found the ring and I couldn't bear to part with it, so I always kept it on me." "It sounds really important to you. Are you sure you want to give it to me?" Her fingers were on the ring, ready to pull it off.

I gently lowered her hands. "No. I just want it to be safe. And I know it'll be safe with you. Besides, I wouldn't be a very good fiancé if I took back the ring just a couple of hours after proposing, right?" She blushed.

"You know you have to write to your sister. Tell her the news," she said. That's right. She left last night. "She was probably expecting it to happen." I sighed. "What's wrong?" she asked, looking at me expectantly. "It's stupid…But I just thought that if I was ever going to get married, a lot more members of my family would be present."

"Well, that can happen," she stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Tatiana will obviously be here for the wedding, but my mother is dead," I said. "I wasn't talking about them…" she trailed off, looking down. "Who else is left? Gideon is already here."

She looked up at me. "I was talking about your father." "I don't want anything to do with _that man_," man I spat. She just looked at me. "I hate him," I continued venomously. She looked like she expected me to say that. "No you don't," she stated. "Yes, I _do_. I _do_ hate him. I do know how I feel."

"I know that. But I'm telling you that you don't hate him," she said, quite confidently. "What are you talking about?" I questioned. "When Gideon left, he took off his family ring. You're still wearing yours," she pointed at it. "You never took it off after you left. Face it. You can't." The way she said it made me feel like I was weak.

She seemed to guess what I was thinking, since it was probably written all over my face, and hurried to add, "I didn't mean it like that. It's just… You were younger than Gideon when your mother died, so it's not unnatural for you to not be able to hate your father, after finding out what he did, since he was the only parental figure in your life for so long. You never left like Gideon, and you never figured out that what he was doing was wrong, and it came as a shock to you when you did."

"The only reason Gideon was able to handle it so well is because he probably guessed it earlier, as he never believed the story about his mother's death that his father told him." I twirled the ring on my finger thoughtfully. "I'm sorry," she said, after a while, "I didn't mean to upset you." "You didn't," I hurried to reassure her. "You're right."

She shrugged. "I often am," then smiled. I grinned at her and my arms tightened around her waist. "I don't want to talk about this anymore," I said. She nodded. "Kiss me," she said. I rolled us over, so she was beneath me. I looked down at her, into her eyes, and something in the air… _shifted_.

**Cecily POV:**

As I stared up into Gabriel's green orbs, I noticed many emotions in them, but on was overpowering the others… _lust. _He leaned down and whispered in my ear, "You want me to kiss you?" His teeth grazed my earlobe, causing me to shiver. "Yes," I said. He leaned in and kissed me. This kiss was different though. It was pleasurable, as always, and sweet, but it was…._hungry_.

"Cecily, I need you," Gabriel said. "I know, I want you to. I can't live without you either." "No, Cecily. I _need _you." _OH! _"Me too," I whispered. He kissed down my jaw and neck hungrily, while my trembling hands undid the buttons on his shirt. He pulled it off and threw it aside. My hands roamed his chest, feeling his hard muscles.

His hands slid beneath me, and he untied the back of my dress, and tugged gently on it, loosening it. He sat up, so I was now straddling him, and he slid my dress down my shoulders, before pulling it off completely. His eyes were heavy lidded as he stared at me in just my underwear. "So beautiful," he whispered, before capturing my lips with his. My hands slid to his trousers.

I was about to undo his belt, when a gasp came from behind us. I turned to see Tessa, staring wide-eyed at us. "I-I… We were just looking for- I didn't mean to-" she stammered. She turned away, and said loudly, "Don't bother coming back here, _Will._ It isn't here." I got her message, and scrambled to put my clothes on. "Do you want me to help you look?" Will.

Tessa was outside of the room, trying to prevent Will from seeing us. "No! It's not back here. Why don't we look somewhere else?" She sounded nervous. I tried to do up the back of my dress, but failed. "Help me," I hissed at Gabriel. He came over, still shirtless, and started lacing up the back of my dress.

"Tessa, that book has always been there. Maybe you didn't look properly," Will said. "Will, you really shouldn't-" "Never mind. I'll help you, just- WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" I realised how bad this looked. Will, walking in and seeing Gabriel, who was _still _shirtless, with his hands on the half- undone laces at the back of my dress.

"I-I We were talking." "It looks like you were doing a lot more than just _talking! Talking _doesn't involve what you-" "Would you relax! Why can't you just leave us alone. We're not kids, and I do believe that I have a lot more sense that you," Gabriel snapped. "I was not talking to you," Will's eyes were blue slits of rage. "But now that I am… A library? Seriously? Have you no class? Were you brought up by wolves?" "Do not," Gabriel growled, "insult my upbringing. Because I can say a hell of a lot about yours."

"Will, stop," Tessa said. "I understand-" A loud noise from outside, followed by screams, made her stop. It sounded like… an explosion? We ran to the nearest window and looked out. The front courtyard of the Institute was on fire. About one hundred clockwork automatons surrounded the Institute, trapping us inside, but I knew there would be more coming.

Another loud explosion. The building shuddered. "W-what's going on?" Tessa asked. "We have to prepare for a battle," Will was saying, but I wasn't listening, I was thinking about what Katherine said, and then my mind turned to what Tatiana was mumbling after we found her, half-dead. Gabriel lifted my head gently, two fingers placed beneath my chin. "Cecily?" "I'm thinking about what Katherine said. About Mortmain's invasion."

"She said that would happen on the 30th. It's after the 30th," he said. "I know. Remember when we found Tatiana, after she went to Mortmain's by herself? She was saying that she stopped him. She didn't." He caught on to what I was saying. "She just delayed him," he said. "Yes. Delayed, not stopped." He looked out the window, before turning back to me, "They're coming for us."

**IMPORTAN A/N: I WILL BE FLYING OUT ON THE 22****ND**** OF DECEMBER, AND I AM RETURNING ON THE 6****TH**** OF JANUARY. I WILL EITHER UPDATE A LOT NEXT WEEK, OR I WILL WAIT UNTIL I RETURN ON THE SIXTH. PLEASE, BEAR WITH ME. R&R!**


	23. Chapter 23: Battles and Kidnappings

**I'm back! Did you forget me? I hope not. Okay, so here's the next chapter:**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just the Spongebob Squarepants sleeping pants I'm wearing.**

**Chapter 23:**

**Battles and Kidnappings:**

**Will POV:**

A sharp pain in my right arm caused me to look away from the approaching crowd of automatons. I turned to see that the cause of the pain was Tessa. Her face was white with fright **(A/N I had no intention of making that rhyme.) **and her tiny hand was gripping my arm, the knuckles whitening. I placed a hand on hers, causing her to loosen her grip, relieving some of the pressure on my arm.

"He's here for me," she whispered. We were the only ones in the room. My sister and Gabriel had left, probably going to alert Charlotte. Although I'm sure they already knew. It's not exactly easy to miss a bunch of automatons crowding around your home, getting ready to kill you. "He'll kill me," she continued.

I faced her sharply. "He will not. Do you understand me? I will not let him hurt you!" I placed my fingers under her chin and lifted her face, meeting her eyes. "I have waited," I continued softly, "and suffered for you for too long. I have you now, and I will not allow anyone to take you away from me, okay?"

I saw the fear in her eyes slowly morph into belief. "I… Okay." "Let's find the others." It wasn't hard to find the others. We just followed the sounds of shouting Shadowhunters. "Honestly, can you make any more noise? Why don't we just give the automatons a map with our exact locations?" I said as I came in with Tessa, "I can colour co-ordinate it if you like. A red for Tessa, silver for Jem. For me… maybe a nice…"

"Stop being ridiculous," Gabriel snapped, "they already know we're in here." "Yes, but they don't know we're in the drawing room," I snapped back. "Two of you. Zip it!" Katherine shouted. "What do we do?" Katherine asked. "We fight," I said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"We can't just go out there. We may get killed," Jem said. "It's what we were trained to do," I continued, before I let out a small gasp of pain. Tessa's nails were digging into my upper arm again, so hard that spots of blood were appearing on my blue shirt. She was staring at something outside the window.

I asked her what was wrong and she pointed. We all looked, only to see none other than the Magister himself, surrounded by automatons. _Hiding like the coward he is. _He put something up to his lips, a long, conical object that I knew Henry would love to get his hands on. He turned a gear on it, and it extended.

He put it to his lips and when he spoke, we heard him clearly, as if he was standing in the room with us. "Now, I don't think you would all like it if I started a war right here. So, just give me Theresa Gray and I'll be on my way."

**Gabriel POV:**

We all walked out of the Institute. Cecily was gripping my arm. We had two plans. Plan A (the plan that I was sure would not work) and Plan B (the better of the two). Plan A was to try to talk it out (Charlotte's suggestion, because her and Henry's new born was at risk as well) and Plan B was reserved for if (when) a fight broke out. Tessa was to go upstairs, get the baby, and get to Magnus.

The Shadowhunters were obviously supposed to stay and fight. Honestly, I didn't care if we were supposed to stay and fight. At the first sign of a fight, I would send Cecily with Tessa. She would protest. I knew that. She would want to stay and fight, but if I had to drag her along with Tessa to Magnus, and then get back to the Institute, I would do it. Just so she would be safe.

I heard a small whimper from beside me. Cecily was staring at someone in the crowd. Bryan. He was smirking cockily at her, and at me. I wanted to slap that stupid expression of his face. Then grind his face into the ground. Then… "Gabriel!" Cecily hissed. "I've been calling you for… Never mind. He's staring at me." "I know. I won't let him get to you." "Promise?" she asked. I kissed her forehead, making sure that _Bryan _could see. He did, and glared at me. Ha! "I promised." She relaxed visibly.

"Magister," Charlotte began coldly. "Please, no titles. Call me Axel." _Is he serious? What does he think this is? A tea party? _"Why are you here?" she snapped. "I am here for her," he said, pointing at Tessa, who was standing behind Will, who was glaring at the Magister. "I'm afraid you can't have her," Will growled.

"Oh dear, and here I was thinking we could compromise." "Compro… Stop that!" Will snapped. "Stop what?" "Talking to us like we're old friends having brunch. You will _not _get my Tessa." "Fascinating. A bunch of Shadowhunters, willing to risk their lives for a silly warlock girl."

"Don't you dare-" Will began. "Will, stop," Jem warned. "Are you absolutely sure you won't give her up. Would you like to re-think?" The Magister stared at all of us with his cold, calculating stare. "No." The word slipped from Henry's lips, and Will shot him a grateful glance.

The Magister sighed, and he actually looked sad as he said. "A shame. Kill them all."

**Cecily POV:**

The atmosphere shifted, and everything happened so fast. I wasn't used to battles, so the amount of fighting startled me. Except, I was nowhere near it, and neither was Tessa. When the fight began, Gabriel grabbed the both of us and retreated towards the Institute. "What are you doing?" I asked, puzzled.

"He's saving your life," said a voice form behind me. Will. "I- I don't…" "You're going with Tessa," Gabriel said. "What! I want to fight," I said. "I know. You're training has been going well, but you don't have years of experience." "I'm a great Shadowhunter," I protested. Gabriel pulled me into the Institute. I saw Will and Tessa speaking to each other. I watched as he kissed her forehead and pulled her into a hug.

"Promise me that you'll go with her and that you won't come back," he said. "I-" "Promise me you'll go with her to Magnus and you'll stay there until I come to get you." "I don't want to leave you," I said. "I know. But if you're fighting, I'll only be concerned about you, and I'll be distracted. I'll get hurt."

"Alright, but _you _have to promise _me _that I'll see you again." He smiled, that crooked smile that I loved so much. He didn't say anything. He just pulled me into a deep kiss. "Just remember, always remember, that I love you," he said. "You can tell me that when I see you again," I said, but my eyes were filling with tears.

He wiped them away. "When I see you again, you'll be smiling and wearing this same dress," he said, fingering the dark blue material. "And then I'll yell at you for keeping me out of the fight," I finished. He smiled again, and kissed me once more. We pulled apart after we heard someone clearing their throat.

"Time to go," Will said, "You two will take the baby and leave through the back. Make sure no one's following you. There's a carriage waiting for you two streets away. It'll take you to Magnus. You'll be safe there until we come get you." Gabriel gave me one last hug and Tessa and I ran upstairs, just as someone began trying to push open the door.

"Where do we go now," I said, once we picked up the baby. I just prayed that he would stay asleep. I let Tessa hold him, since I was afraid I would wake him up. "Let's leave," she said. "Where do we go? The back exit?" She nodded and we hurried towards the back of the Institute. I used an Open rune on the door after finding it locked, and we got out of the Institute. I peeked out of the door, and pulled my head back in with a hiss.

"What's wrong?" Tessa wanted to know. "There are automatons out there. I can't protect the three of us. We have to find another way out." "I don't think there's another door. And the windows are all on the upper floors. We'll never survive the fall." "Then we have to hide," I said, "Follow me." "And if they find us?" she asked as I pulled us into an unused bedroom.

"Then we fight until we can get out and get to Magnus," I said, surprising myself at how calm I sounded. Footsteps were coming down the hall. "Hide!" I hissed at her then whirled to face the door, dagger in hand. The door flew open and I saw a flash of bronze. I didn't even think. I sprang, bringing the dagger in a downward motion. When I pulled back, an automaton was lying at my feet, twitching, my dagger sticking out of its chest.

I pulled my dagger back and Tessa came out of hiding with the baby. "Let's go." We ran out of the door. That was a big mistake on my part. I didn't look before we went outside. I ran straight into a wall of flesh. Bryan was staring down at me. I remembered what he tried to do to me and tried to get away from him, but his hand was gripping mine tightly.

I turned my head, trying to locate Tessa, to tell her to run while I kept Bryan distracted, but she was being restrained by who I assumed to be the Magister. "Let's leave," the Magister said. "What about her," Bryan said, passing a finger up my neck. I shivered. He merely glanced at me. "Not important. Leave her. Knock her out. My creations will kill her."

"But-" Bryan protested. "I said," the Magister continued, "that she is not important! Do what I told you to do!" His voice had risen to a shout. Bryan turned to me. "I want her!" he hissed. He received a hard look. "Fine," Bryan grumbled, "I'll leave her." He raised his hand, and the sound of Tessa's screams was the last thing I heard before I blacked out.

**Gabriel POV:**

"Thanks," Charlotte said, after I killed an automaton that managed to get a hold of her. "No problem," I said, wielding my dagger expertly. We managed to put down quite a few of these clockwork bastards, but there were still a lot more. I noticed a bunch of them around Jem. He was holding up quite well, but he looked a little pale, and his movements were a bit slow.

He clutched at his chest suddenly, and began to cough violently. A creature slashed him across his face. "Jem!" I heard Katherine yell. He had fallen to the floor now, coughing up blood. "I'll go to him," I said, seeing that she was too far away from him. I saw Will looking at him in concern, but he was surrounded by those creatures.

I quickly dispatched the creature in front of me and ran to him. Will got away from the automatons that were bombarding him and came to help me. Together, we managed to dispatch the creatures, and we got Jem inside. "There's too many," I said, when we stepped back outside to re-join the fight.

Then I noticed something peculiar. The creatures stopped fighting, and together, marched _away _from the Institute. "Are they giving up?" Will wanted to know. "Why would they? They could have easily overpowered us, unless…" We stared at each other, both coming to the same realisation. "They have Tessa," he said.

He bolted up the stairs, followed by the others, except for Sophie, who had come out of hiding, and was now leaning over my brother, examining him. When I got to him, his face was twisted in pain. "Dislocated my shoulder," he said. I knelt down and held his arm out, resting my other hand on his shoulder. "Ready?" He nodded and gritted his teeth.

I pushed his shoulder back into place swiftly, and applied a rune for it to heal quickly, then we went inside to see what the others were doing. I just wanted to go find my girl. I noticed everyone's gloomy expressions when I entered the drawing room. Will looked the worst. "Is Jem okay," I asked. "He's fine. Katherine's tending to him." "Then what's wrong. They got Tessa, didn't they? Well, we have to get her back, but if you don't mind, I'd like to see Cecily first."

"That's just it." I turned, surprised to see the speaker, and trying to comprehend what was going on. "I'm really sorry, Gabriel. They got Cecily," Tessa said.

**Duh duh duh! Plot twist! So…. I'm back from my unexpected, long break. Hope you guys aren't too mad. R&R!**


	24. Chapter 24: Strategies and Captivity

**Okay, here's the next chapter.**

**DISCLAIMER: Yeah, I don't own ID.**

**Chapter 24:**

**Strategies and Captivity:**

**Gabriel POV:**

"What?" I asked, not because I didn't hear what Tessa said, but because I couldn't believe it. "How?" I asked softly, dropping into a chair. "Well, we were about to leave, to get to the carriage, and Mortmain and Bryan found us. They knocked out Cecily, and Mortmain took us to the carriage. I got out of the carriage when they weren't looking, but I couldn't carry Cecily. They probably don't even know I'm gone."

"You left her there?" I asked, getting angrier by the second. "I didn't want to! Trust me! She was knocked out. I couldn't carry her." I knew it wasn't her fault. I never should have left Cecily. I should have made sure that they got to Magnus. I should have gone with them.

"It's not your fault," Will told her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "That's not all. I know where they're going. I heard them talking." My head snapped up. "Where," I said, going over to her. I held her by the shoulders and shook her. "Where!" I yelled. I was pulled off of her by an angry Will.

"Don't touch her again," he hissed. I ignored him. "Their location?" I asked Tessa. She told us, and we began to make plans to get my Cecily back.

**Cecily POV:**

I groaned and sat up. My head hurt. A lot. I looked around, but my vision was fuzzy. I fell backwards against something soft. That made me jump up, and cleared my head. I took in my surroundings. I was in a dimly lit room, but I was able to make out that I was in a bedroom, and I was on the bed, under the covers. It looked like any ordinary room.

I tried to get off the bed, but my right hand, and unfortunately, better punching hand, was shackled to the bed. "You're awake." I froze, recognising the voice immediately. Bryan walked up to me, and sat next to me. "I enjoyed watching you sleep, but it became dreadfully boring." He smiled when I inched away from him.

"Where am I?" I asked, finding my voice. He ignored my question. "I can't wait until we are wed. I-" "Wed! I'm not going to marry you!" "I'm afraid you don't have a choice," he said. He placed his fingers on my shoulder, and moved them up and down my arm. "Get your hand off of me!" I hissed.

When he didn't listen, I slapped him, hard, across the face. He snarled at me, and pushed me back on the bed, crawling on top of me. "Don't do that again," he warned. I fumbled for my dagger, which should have been in the weapons belt on my waist. He held my hands above my head. "Don't bother. I've removed all your weapons."

When he spoke, his lips brushed my neck. I whimpered in fear when he bit down on my neck and sucked. A tear slid out of my eye. He licked it off my face. "Don't cry," he said, like he actually cared how I felt. I kneed him in the groin, a well-placed blow that would have made Gabriel proud.

He hissed in pain and bent my hand back, until I felt like it was going to snap. "If you behave, I'll be good to you. If not, you'll regret it. Got it?" I nodded. He let go of my hand. He unshackled my hand and turned me on my side so he was spooning me from behind.

"What the hell are you doing!" "Going to sleep," he said. "And don't even think about trying to escape. There are automatons everywhere. You'll never make it." He wrapped his arms tightly around me, and I felt suffocated just being near him. "Good night," he whispered in my ear.

I didn't sleep. Instead, I cried, wishing that the arms around me were Gabriel's.

**Will POV:**

"Will?" I looked up at Tessa as she said my name. Her voice was tentative, careful. I knew immediately what she was going to say. I held up a hand to stop her. "What happened wasn't your fault," I said, as she came to sit by me. I put my arms around her. "I still feel like I could have stayed."

"And what good would have come of that?" I questioned. "If you stayed, you never would've been able to tell us where they were going. We know where they are. We just need a plan." "But, she's all alone. With Bryan." She shot a quick glance at Gabriel. He was taking this even worse than me. He was currently wrapping a weapons belt around his waist, making sure that he had enough blades, daggers etc.

I actually felt pity stir within me. He looked like he was taking all this harder than me. Even though the temporary loss of my sister had cut a hole into my chest, he looked lost without her. He looked like I would have looked, if it were Tessa who was kidnapped, not Cecily. Tessa curled into my side. I imagine that Gabriel felt hollow at the sight of us, as I would have felt in his position. It seemed he couldn't take it any longer, as he stiffened, clenched his hands into fists and strode out of the room.

Tessa sighed loudly. "I feel sorry for him. Cecily brought about a big change in him, and I do believe that until we get her back, he'll be just as he was before." "How great for me," I said, with every ounce of sarcasm I could muster.

**Cecily POV:**

I stared straight ahead, refusing to look at Bryan. "Hungry?" he asked. I was woken up rather rudely this morning by him dumping a dress on me, and telling me to get dressed for breakfast. He then proceeded to lead me to breakfast, babbling on the entire way there. I wanted to slap him.

"Cecily?" I looked away not wanting to be part of his game. "Look at me now!" he ordered sharply. My eyes snapped to his at his sudden outburst. "What?" I growled. He leaned over to place a hand, on my cheek, his face softening. "Didn't you hear me?"

"Don't. Touch. Me," I said.

"What?" He actually had the _nerve_ to look puzzled.

"You heard me. Get you hand off of me!" I slapped his hand away, and stood up. "What the HELL is wrong with you?! Are you CRAZY! Wait, don't answer that! You ARE crazy! I WILL NOT be a part of your sick, twisted game of house!" His hand connected with my face, producing a loud sound equivalent to that of thunder. I fell, and my head hit the side of the table, and blood dripped down my face.

He grabbed my face and said, "Talk to me like that again, and I'll do things so bad to you, you'll _beg _me to kill you." His voice was dripping with venom, and he roughly released my face and walked away. I considered running after him and jumping him, but instead, I got shakily to my feet, and walked back to the room I was in earlier.

I cleaned my wound as best as I could, but I wished I had a stele. I lay on the bed, and stared at the ring on my finger. A tear slipped out of my eye as I looked at it, and remembered Gabriel, placing it there.

I closed my eyes. _Gabriel, I miss you._

**Well, again, so sorry for the later update, but since we have no final exams this term, teachers have been packing us with assignment. Thanks to all my faithful readers and reviewers!**


	25. Chapter 25: Rescue Missions and Reunions

**HI! SO sorry for my long unexpected break….. I have been very busy.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Infernal Devices**

**Chapter 25:**

**Rescue Missions and Reunions:**

**Gabriel's POV:**

We were here. Outside the Magister's hideout. To an ordinary mundane, it would look like a dilapidated shack, when it was actually a huge castle-like structure. I made a mental note to burn this place to the ground once we achieved what we came here for. Cecily. _My _Cecily.

_I hope she's okay. Is she still…_ No. I couldn't think like that. If she was dead I would've have felt it. I would have _known_. "Gabriel, you have to be prepared for the fact that she might be…" "She's not dead," Will snapped at Henry. "She's not." "She'll be fine," Jem assured Will.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go already!" I didn't wait to hear anyone's response. I just stealthily moved towards the building and jumped through and open window. I landed gently on my toes in the middle of a long, dark hallway. I walked down it, hoping it would lead me somewhere.

I passed a large arched doorway, and peeped inside. I swore under my breath when I saw Bryan talking to Mortmain. And my father. "How could you let her get away!" "Me?" came Bryan's reply, "This is not my fault. I was driving the carriage. Why didn't you stay inside with them while I was mounting the horses!?"

I wanted to strangle him. The three of them, but I had to find Cecily. Forcing myself to walk away and leave them unharmed, I kept walking. I took a path of narrow twists and turns and came to a lit room. I stopped dead in my tracks.

Automatons. Everywhere. Rows of them. And… Henry? "Look! Look at how many there are!" he said, eyes alight like a child's. "Shhh! Do you want us to get caught?" "Sorry, but I was just studying them," he poked on, and its eyes turned red. "Maybe we should go now, and continue looking for Cecily." I said. "What? Oh! Yes, yes…"

We exited the room and went in different directions. I heard a strange, whirring sound behind me, but I ignored it. I finally came to a set of stairs and walked up them quickly, taking three at a time. Another hallway. This one was lined with doors, each the same distance apart. I opened the first one. It was a bedroom.

I quickly made my way down the hallway, hoping Cecily was in one of them. When I came to the last one, I opened it slowly, and I was relieved when I saw a small , dark- headed figure lying under the sheets. I moved closer to her, and sat on the bed.

I was able to see her face clearly. My fists tightened. She had a cut on her forehead, and well as a bruised cheek and a black eye. I gently passed my hand over her bruise, and her eyes fluttered open.

**Mortmain's POV:**

I heard the tell-tale, whirring sound of one of my inventions, and the three of us turned to towards the doorway. It was one of my new set of clockwork creatures. How had it been activated? Its eyes blinked three times. And it turned and went back the way it came.

"What was that about?" aske Benedict. His skin was really disgusting to look at. Rashes everywhere. "There are unwanted guests in the house," I said.

**Cecily POV:**

When I opened my eyes to find Gabriel sitting there, I jumped into his arms, shedding tears. He wiped them away and kissed me gently. He then took my hand and began to lead us out if the place. To say I was relieved was an understatement.

We were walking down a long corridor, when my hair was yanked back. I let out a long, loud scream and turned just in time to see Gabriel pouncing on Bryan. Bryan kicked out and Gabriel and managed to get out from under him. He kicked Gabriel in the stomach, hard, and he doubled over.

Bryan came at me, and placed his hands around my throat. He squeezed hard, and I struggled, trying to get away from him. Then, in a flash, he was off of me, and I slid down against the wall, trying to catch my breath.

**Gideon POV:**

I heard a long, loud scream. "Cecily," Will gasped, and ran off in her direction. I continued to look for Jem, who had gone the opposite way when the three of us entered the building. "Looking for someone?" I knew exactly who the voice belonged to. My father.

"Why am I not surprised to find you here?" I said, looking at him. "You betrayed our mother, I'm not surprised that you betrayed your children too." He merely smiled, although I could see it took much effort. The demon pox really took a toll on him. He was leaning on a cane.

"Mortmain said if I got rid of the problem, he'd give me the cure." He pulled out a knife, "And you all are the problem." Sophie's face flashed in my mind. I couldn't let him kill me. Couldn't let him hurt my brother, sister, or anyone else.

He came at me. It was me, or him. He plunged the knife down towards me and I grabbed his hand, twisted it, and kicked him, hard. The force of the kick, combined with his weak body, sent him sailing, through the air. He hit a huge window, smashing it to pieces and he hit. I rushed to the broken window in time to see his body fall to the ground.

He was dead. I was about to say the traditional goodbye for a Shadowhunter upon their death, then I realised he didn't deserve it. He was not worth it. I turned and walked away.

**Cecily POV:**

I sat there, coughing, while Gabriel fought Bryan. I hated feeling helpless, like I did now, but there wasn't much I could do. Gabriel gave Bryan one final punch, and Bryan stopped moving. Hopefully, he was dead.

"Are you okay?" Gabriel asked. Coming towards me. I collapsed against him, and his arms immediately encircled me. He stroked my hair gently, saying, "It's alright. You're safe." Over and over. Suddenly, his body gave a violent jerk, and he made a strangled noise. He began to fall, and I fell with him.

We were both on our knees, him leaning against me. I looked up to see the most horrific sight ever. Bryan. With a knife in his hand…. The same knife that was impaled in Gabriel's back.

**Duh duh duuuuuhhhhhhhhh! Did you expect that? Okay R & R!**


	26. Chapter 26 : Endings and Beginnings

**I'm glad to see that I am still remembered and that people still review! Thanks to all!**

**IMPORTANT AUTHORS' NOTE BELOW!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Infernal Devices**

**Chapter 26:**

**Endings and Beginnings:**

**Cecily POV:**

I lost it. I don't know what happened, but seeing him hurt Gabriel made something inside of me snap. He yanked the knife out, and I grabbed it from him, and started stabbing him everywhere. I didn't know what I was doing; I just knew that I was very angry.

Restraining arms were placed around me, and I snarled, and thrashed about until a very familiar voice hissed in my ear, "Stop it! He's dead!" I willed myself to be calm, and a strangled cry caught my attention. _Gabriel._ I went over to him, but his brother and the others were around him. They lifted him up and walked towards the carriages. I went behind them, with my brother holding me firmly.

Once in the carriage, I curled up beside Gabriel's body. His eyes opened weakly, and blood was pooling on the ground at an alarming rate. "Cecy," he said. "I'm right here," I whispered, as I gripped his bloody hand. "I-I," he was trying to tell me something, but I could see that even that was taking too much out of him.

"It's okay. Don't talk, you'll be fine." He took my hand. "I love you," he whispered, before his eyes fluttered close. I shrieked. "Relax," Will said, coming to my side, "He still has a pulse." I rested my head on Gabriel's chest, ignoring the blood matting my hair and soiling my face.

"Cecy," Will said, very slowly, "You have to get off of him now, so we can get him inside. "I won't leave him," I whispered fiercely. "The Brothers will take care of him, don't worry." I allowed Will to pick me up and carry me away from Gabriel.

Once in my room, Sophie began fussing over me. I barely registered her washing my hair and face to get the blood out. I just kept thinking about Gabriel. Once Sophie was finished, I rushed to the infirmary. "Is he alright?" I asked Henry. "The blade was coated in demon blood… it's poisoned him. We don't know anything for sure right now… the Silent Brothers are still checking him out."

I sat down slowly, processing this new bit of information. I hardly even noticed when the door opened, and Brother Enoch stepped out. He looked at Charlotte, and she nodded. I went in to see Gabriel, and I slowly curled up beside him. No one else came in, probably giving me some time alone with him.

He was in a pair of slacks with no shirt. His torso was covered in bandages and he had a sickly green tint to his even paler skin. "Please don't leave me," I said, burying my face in his chest as I cried until I fell asleep, clutching his cool hand. A while later, I don't know how long, I felt myself being moved. I tried to open my eyes, but I was dragged down by sleep.

I woke up in a haze, eyes blurry and mind cloudy. It took me a while to collect my thoughts. I was lying in my room in the Institute. I jumped up and walked outside, still tired. I was going to Gabriel's room, when I remembered he wasn't there, and I started in the direction of the infirmary. "Going somewhere?" it was Will, who was talking to Charlotte.

"It's the middle of the night, why are you awake?" "Is Gabriel okay?" I asked. Will and Charlotte shared a brief look. "No change," Will said, "and you should get back to bed." He took my arm and steered me to my room. I pulled away from him. "I want to go see Gabriel," I stated, quite firmly.

He sighed. "Cecy… You can't help him. We just need to wait until he wakes up." "I just want him to hear my voice. He might wake up if he does," my voice cracked. Will's resolve broke, and he finally let me have my way. He went back to his room, while I went to Gabriel. Once there, I lay next to him on the bed. I rested my head on his chest and said, "You know you have to wake up. You will right? If you don't, I'll kill you. You know that. You can't just ask me to marry you then die. I won't let you get away that easily."

I heard a short chuckle. My head snapped up. Gabriel was looking down at me. "You're awake," I whispered. He smiled thinly. "I-I," his voice was raspy. I gave him a glass of water, and he tried to talk. His voice came out, weak and soft as ever, "I won't leave you," he said. His eyes started drooping. Talking was taking a lot out of him. "It's alright. Go to sleep," I said.

"Stay," he whispered. "I will," I promised. I took his trembling hand in mine. "You'll be fine," I told him, before I drifted off to sleep as well.

When I woke up the next morning, I was in my own room. The door to my room was slightly ajar, so I tip-toed over to it and peeked out. Charlotte was standing there, along with Will. They looked serious, and they were whispering harshly to each other. I heard Charlotte whisper, "Poor girl," as she cast a glance at my door.

She caught me spying on them. I stepped out. "What's wrong?" I asked them. They looked at each other, then at me. Charlotte's mouth was grim, and Will's expression was unreadable. The engagement ring on my finger suddenly felt a thousand times heavier, like it was weighing down my hand.

"Is it Gabriel?" "Cecily…" Will trailed off, looking to Charlotte for help. _Had something happened to Gabriel? _"Gabriel woke up this morning," Charlotte said. "I know, he woke up last night, then he fell asleep," I said. "He woke up, but…" "But?" I said, wanting to know what happened.

He woke up. What could be so bad? "I'm really sorry, Cecily...but…"

**YES I'm BACK! MAJOR cliffie, I know. Next chapter is the epilogue. Also, instead of a sequel, would you guys just like some outtakes instead? Also, please keep in mind the name of this story, and don't start to make conclusions just yet. There's still and epilogue. Things can change.**


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